Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about The Plastic Detox. There's no shortage of documentaries about plastic, and at times the messaging can feel overwhelming – even exhausting. But the reason this one is generating real buzz (and consuming our social media feed) is because it's not just about the impact on our planet. It's about the impact on your body. Specifically, your hormones, your fertility, and the endocrine disruptors that are quietly present in so many of our everyday homes.
I'm Corrine, The Low Tox Project Founder, and this space is one I've researched to quite an extent... It's a big part of why our brand exists. So, when The Plastic Detox landed on Netflix, I watched it with a lot of recognition. The science isn't new to me, but the way this documentary tells it – through real couples, real results, and real kitchens – made it land in a way that's hard to ignore, especially as infertility rates rise.
It's a story that's intertwined with so many people in our community, and I felt it was worth talking about.
Before we start... consider this your spoiler warning. If you'd rather go in fresh, bookmark this for after you've watched.
Six couples. Twelve weeks. The results were eye-opening
The film follows six real couples who've been trying to conceive (some for over a decade) with no answers as to why. Throughout the program, they spend 12 weeks reducing their exposure to plastic chemicals. Guided by reproductive epidemiologist Dr Shanna Swan, they track their chemical levels and fertility markers the whole way through.
That framing matters. Fertility is something so many of us have experienced personally or watched someone we love go through. It's not abstract. And when the documentary tells you that sperm count has dropped globally by over 50% in the past 50 years – and that the chemicals in everyday plastic may be contributing, it hits differently than a statistic about landfill or marine life.
This isn’t speculation either. The film is based on a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Toxics. Real couples, real biomarkers, real before-and-afters.
The scenes that stay with you
Dr Swan walks through each couple's home and points out exactly where they're being exposed. Not at a factory. Not through some industrial accident. Not a big pharma contaminating remote towns. This exposure is in their kitchens. Their bathrooms. Their wardrobes.
The two main culprits are phthalates (which make plastic soft and flexible), and bisphenols like BPA (which harden plastic and are also found on thermal receipts). Both are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, meaning they can interfere with the body's hormone signalling. They turn up in food packaging, synthetic fabrics worn against skin, scented products, takeaway containers – and yes, coated bakeware.
By the end of 12 weeks, BPA had dropped to undetectable levels for many of the participants. Sperm quality improved. Three couples got pregnant. And in the follow-up article, we learn that participant Bruno's severe eczema, managed for years with fortnightly medication injections, cleared up almost entirely.
I keep coming back to that last one. Nobody was even looking for that result.
The counterargument from the powers above
The American Chemistry Council responded to the film, noting that plastic chemicals are regulated and that previous government reviews have found BPA and certain phthalates to be safe at current exposure levels. But we’ve heard similar Government bodies making statements like this in the past; you only have to watch Dark Waters: the Teflon story to think twice about that.
So here's where I land on it: there's a difference between "approved at current levels" and "something I'd actively choose if a better option were right in front of me." Regulation sets a floor. It doesn't have to be your ceiling.
The impact we’re passing down to our children
Beyond the hormonal disruption, and separate from the fertility results, there's another detail in this documentary that I haven't been able to stop thinking about...
Microplastics have now been found in human placentas. Not in one or two samples – in every single one of 62 placentas tested in a 2024 University of New Mexico study. The placenta only exists for eight months. It forms specifically to protect a developing baby. And it's already carrying plastic particles – the most prevalent being polyethylene, the material used to make plastic bags and bottles.
Research has also found correlations between microplastic levels in the placenta and reduced birth weight, affected gestational age, and disrupted fetal development. These aren't fringe findings, they're coming out of peer-reviewed journals, and the body of evidence is growing quickly.
I want to be clear here: the science is still evolving, and researchers are careful to note that we don't yet have all the answers. But as one of the study's lead researchers Dr Matthew Campen, put it, “if we're seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted”. That's not a sentence I can just scroll past.
This isn't about panic. It's about paying attention. And it's about making the easy swaps where we can, starting in the kitchen.
And here’s how it connects to baking
Heat + food + coated surfaces is exactly the combination the documentary's experts flag. Non-stick bakeware, the kind that chips and scratches quietly over time, is easy to overlook because it's always just been there. It's just the pan. But it doesn’t have to be.
Our stainless steel bakeware, loaf pans, muffin trays, brownie pans and baking trays have no coatings. Nothing that flakes, nothing that degrades invisibly with heat and time. Changing your cookware and containers doesn’t have to be dramatic and overnight, but simple swaps will get you started on the right path.
When I built The Low Tox Project around stainless steel, it wasn’t out of a fear of plastic or coatings. It was about finding something that families could use confidently, over and over again. It was getting back to the basics of using good quality materials that last a lifetime. Watching The Plastic Detox reminded me exactly why that still matters.
You don’t have to overhaul everything tonight
Add The Plastic Detox to your watch list on Netflix. Then start to take stock of what’s in your home. What could you easily replace now, and what is a longer-term goal?
Our approach has always been small, steady and considered. Not perfect... just a little more intentional than yesterday.
Browse our collection today to find easy swaps for your home.
