A plasticizer is a general term for a whole range of chemicals added to materials, typically plastic and rubber, to make them softer and more pliable. They're found in countless everyday items like plastic shower curtains, shrink-wrap, PVC raincoats or flexible tubing and wire insulation for homes.

Plasticizers, sometimes called phthalates, are also found in cosmetics, like nail polishes, lotions and shampoos. Here, they act as stabilizers, preserving and maintaining consistency. They can also help products like lotions resist water or last longer.

The use of certain plasticizers has been banned or severely restricted in places such as the EU, US, Canada and Japan due to their potentially harmful effects on human health or the environment. But they remain widely used elsewhere.

Although restrictions are especially enforced when it comes to children's toys, for example, in recent years, German researchers have reported unusually high levels of a strictly regulated plasticizer in young kids.

A breakdown product of the plasticizer mono-n-hexyl phthalate (MnHexP) was detected in 92% of urine samples from 259 children and adolescents taken in spring and summer 2025 across Germany.

In an initial investigation in 2024, that same product was found in nearly two-thirds of urine samples from 250 children aged 2-6 in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia— a tenfold increase compared to three years earlier.

A nationwide study by the UBA, Germany's federal environment agency, at the time had already found the chemical in about a third of the adult population.

"Based on the results of recent years, we were not surprised to find MnHexP in the urine samples of children and adolescents," said Dirk Messner, UBA head, in mid-February. "However, what did surprise us was the large proportion of contaminated samples, as well as the sometimes very high concentrations."

In its 2024 investigation, the UBA said it had identified sunscreen as the potential source of the plasticizer. The agency added that this source was again likely in the most recent data collected in 2025, but other sources have not been ruled out.

How are plasticizers bad for human health?

Marike Kolossa-Gehring, a toxicologist with the UBA until December 2025, told DW after the first study that the concentration of the breakdown product, MnHexP, found in the tested children was in some cases high enough "that a health risk couldn't be ruled out." Still, most measurements remained below levels considered likely to cause harm.

MnHexP is a potential byproduct left in the body after it ingests or absorbs di-n-hexyl phthalate (DnHexP) through the skin or airways, but it could also come from other sources. DnHexP has been classified by the European Chemicals Agency as a "substance of very high concern" since 2013, and its use is strictly regulated.

In its 2013 analysis, the European Chemicals Agency found that DnHexP was "toxic for reproduction" in humans and could have a detrimental effect on fertility or "cause harm to the unborn child." That also applies to the phthalate byproduct found in the urine samples.

Phthalates are one of a group of plasticizers that have been used to make countless products and packaging for years. But when they leach out of products or evaporate from surfaces and end up in humans, some are considered endocrine disruptors — that is, they may interfere with the glands in the body that produce the hormones that regulate growth, development and reproduction.

Some studies linked prolonged exposure to a host of health issues in children, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, fertility and problems with the nervous and respiratory systems. Animal testing also suggests plasticizers may influence the risk for diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

Are there alternatives to plasticizers?

Faced with these concerns, researchers have investigated the potential of bio-based plasticizers. These include alternatives made from plants such as wheat, corn, rice and rapeseed oil, which could reduce the toll from traditional plasticizers.

But some of these alternatives don't yet perform as well as plasticizers used for decades, or are too expensive to manufacture. And while their health effects are less severe, they could still be linked to respiratory illnesses and skin irritation. More research is also needed to find out whether these alternatives could have unintended environmental consequences.

Experts say one way to avoid plasticizers and their numerous downsides is to use products that manufacturers guarantee are phthalate-free. Certain plastic products are clearly labeled as such, and substitutes made from other materials — wooden toys, glass containers, metal camping dishes — don't contain them in the first place.

This article was originally published on September 13, 2024, and updated on March 9, 2026.

Edited by: Jennifer Collins