Each research season, a new round of answers. Made possible by the members who asked the questions.

A Research Season is a cycle of independent lab testing that runs until the science is done. This is independent lab testing on consumer products, funded and directed by members.

Here's how it works:
We propose a slate of studies based on community interest. Members first vote to lock down the categories, then recommend the specific products and brands they want tested within those categories. We finalize the methodology, source the samples, and run them through accredited laboratory analysis for the contaminants that matter most: microplastics, PFAS, heavy metals, pesticides, BPA and other bisphenols, phthalates, and parabens.

When testing wraps, we publish the results in The Signal, our seasonal research findings release for members. Then the next research season begins, with new votes and new studies.

Every research season builds on the last. We want to understand what's really going on with the food and products we consume. The more members who join, the more answers we can find.

Our studies focus on the industrial contaminants showing up most often in modern food, drinks, and consumer products. None of these appear on a label. Across our research, these include:

• Microplastics and nanoplastics tiny plastic particles that enter products through packaging, processing equipment, source ingredients, and supply chains. They are found in a growing list of everyday items.

• PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) a family of synthetic "forever chemicals" used in grease-resistant packaging, nonstick coatings, water-resistant textiles, and stain treatments. Persistent in the environment and in the human body.

• Heavy metals including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Often present in trace amounts in produce, grains, seafood, baby food, and protein powders due to soil, water, and processing inputs.

• Pesticides and herbicides including glyphosate and other agricultural residues that can remain on or in produce, grains, and processed foods after farming.

• BPA and other bisphenols BPA, BPS, BPF, and related compounds used in plastics and can linings. When BPA was phased out under public pressure, many manufacturers substituted chemically similar alternatives that may carry the same concerns.

• Phthalates plasticizers used to make plastics flexible. Found in food packaging, personal care products, and cosmetics.

• Parabens preservatives common in personal care products, cosmetics, and some processed foods.

Not every study tests for every contaminant. Each research season is designed around the specific products and questions members vote on, and we select the analytical panel that best matches what's being investigated.

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles, typically ranging from 1 micrometer to 5 millimeters in size. Most come from the breakdown of larger plastic items over time. Others are manufactured at microscopic sizes for specific uses, such as microbeads in personal care products or plastic pellets used as raw material in manufacturing.

Nanoplastics are even smaller (under 1 micrometer), small enough to bypass biological barriers, enter cells, and reach the cell nucleus.

They've infiltrated nearly the entire food system. Microplastics have been found in bottled and tap water, salt, seafood, fruits and vegetables, grains, meat, honey, tea bags, and baby food. They enter products at multiple points along the supply chain: source ingredients, soil and irrigation, processing equipment, packaging, and transport. There is no federal standard in the United States requiring testing or disclosure, and they don't appear on any ingredient label.

They've also been found inside the human body. Recent studies have detected microplastics and nanoplastics in human blood, lungs, liver, placenta, breast milk, testes, arterial plaques, and brain tissue, with brain concentrations rising roughly 50% between 2016 and 2024. Harvard researchers describe them as "sustained-release vehicles"- particles that linger in tissues and slowly release chemical additives like phthalates and bisphenols over the lifetime of the cells they're embedded in. A 2024 study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that patients with microplastics in their arterial plaques were 4.5 times more likely to experience a heart attack, stroke, or death within roughly three years.

Direct causation has not been proven. But the patterns are consistent across multiple body systems, and exposure is cumulative across a lifetime. To learn more about the science, visit our Microplastics page.

Membership is a one-time charge per research season. When a new season opens, you decide if you're in.

• Member — $17/season. Propose studies, get every Signal Season Release, help unlock more studies.

• Investigator — $24/season. Everything in Member, plus voting rights to rank which studies the lab runs each season.

• Patron — choose your own amount, anything over $25/season. Everything in Investigator, plus an elevated contribution that directly expands what the community can study.

Americans shouldn't have to wonder what's in their food. Independent lab testing is expensive, and we rely entirely on members like you to keep the science going. Every season, your membership funds new studies and unlocks answers to the questions that matter most.

If you'd like a refund, email support@unplasticlabs.com within 7 days of being charged for a research season and we'll take care of it. We see members as partners in this work, not customers. If it's not right for you, we want you to feel good about stepping away.

Unplastic Labs is fully independent. No corporate funding, no brand partnerships, no advertisers. Every study is funded by members and directed by members.

Our testing is conducted by accredited third-party laboratories and our own facilities, using established analytical methods for microplastics, PFAS, heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants. We publish what we find, clean results and contaminated ones, without filtering for the comfort of any brand.

Reliable data is the foundation of everything we do, and we hold our process to the standards that serious analytical work requires.

Every study runs through accredited laboratory analysis using established methods for the contaminant in question. For microplastics, that includes careful sample preparation in contamination-controlled environments, density separation and chemical digestion to isolate particles, and polymer identification using spectroscopic techniques such as µ-Raman or FTIR. We test multiple replicates per product to account for natural variability, and every batch includes procedural blanks and positive controls so any background contamination is caught and corrected for.

We publish methodology details alongside each Season Release of The Signal, so members can see exactly how a result was produced. If you ever have questions about a specific study, we're happy to share more.

One note on interpretation: our research is for informational and educational purposes. It reflects what we measured in specific samples at the time of testing, not a blanket safety judgment on an entire brand or category.

Same season, same access. Findings for a research season are published together in The Signal at the end of the cycle, so whether you join on day one or week ten, you'll receive the full season's release when it drops.

Members who join mid-season can propose studies for future research seasons through the portal anytime.

Investigators who join before voting closes can still cast votes on the studies being finalized for the research season.