By Rachel Abrams, New York Times

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Thursday that bans plastic microbeads, giving his state one of the country’s strongest laws against the tiny abrasives used in exfoliators and other products.

The consumer products industry had objected to certain aspects of the bill, arguing that it was overly restrictive and did not allow companies to come up with environmentally friendly alternatives.

The California rules include a prohibition against biodegradable microbeads, which other states with similar legislation allow.

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