Activists urge World Cup Official Personal Care Sponsor to drop plastic packaging as microplastic turns up in men’s reproductive organs
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HOBOKEN, NJ (July 16, 2026)—Greenpeace USA activists today unfurled a 50-foot banner outside Dove’s USA headquarters with the message “Dove: Care for Men’s Health, Kick Plastic Out.” Just days ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 finals, activists dressed in soccer jerseys handed out ‘red cards’ penalizing Dove, the Official World Cup Personal Care Sponsor, and urging it to kick plastic out of its packaging. Greenpeace is calling on Dove to act faster to address its role in the global plastic pollution crisis — a growing public health emergency.
Lindsey Jurca, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace USA, said: “As an official sponsor of the World Cup, Dove has spent millions telling men it cares for their most sensitive parts. But its parent company, Unilever, is one of the world’s top plastic polluters — and now plastic pollution is showing up below the belt. Dove can’t have it both ways. We’re asking Dove to put its money where its mouth is and kick plastic out.”
Dove has used the FIFA World Cup to promote its plastic‑packaged men’s personal care line and presents itself as a brand that cares about men. Yet its parent company, Unilever, produces more than 600,000 tonnes of plastic packaging annually and consistently ranks among the world’s top 5 plastic polluters.
Emerging science is raising questions about the links between exposure to microplastics and plastic chemicals and men’s sexual health and fertility. Sperm counts have dropped by nearly 62% since the 1974 Men’s World Cup and doctors are sounding alarms that chemicals found in plastics could be a culprit. Plastic chemicals include known endocrine disruptors capable of interfering with hormone systems.
Recent studies reveal that microplastics may be showing up in semen and penile tissue, underscoring how deeply plastic pollution could be reaching into men’s bodies. Dove’s products are largely packaged in polyethylene (PET), a plastic that may leach hundreds of chemicals into the products it contains over time, some capable of interfering with male hormone systems.
As a company that has millions to spend on Dove’s World Cup sponsorship, Unilever can afford to invest in large-scale reuse-and-refill systems. Unilever pledged to halve its virgin plastic footprint by 2025, missed that target, and has since quietly shifted its goalposts. Despite repeated calls from customers to stop selling plastic sachets and other packaging, the company has not provided a plan to scale up reuse initiatives beyond current pilot projects, or to phase out sachets.
Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist known for her research on environmental contributors to declining sperm counts, said: “We are seeing decades-long declines in semen quality and testosterone levels worldwide, with chemicals in the environment linked to the declines. Some of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals are associated with plastics and are showing up in placental and testicular tissue, where they can adversely impact the developing fetus. This isn’t just about men’s balls; it’s about the survival of life on the planet. It is urgent that these exposures, capable of decreasing the reproductive success of current and future generations, be removed from commerce.”
Eric Isaac, one of the men who took part in Swan’s intervention featured in the Netflix documentary, The Plastic Detox, said: “My wife and I struggled with infertility for years. I was shocked to learn that my everyday exposure to plastics could be part of the problem. We welcomed a baby boy last February, and we can’t help but wonder if our lifestyle changes to reduce our exposure to plastic helped. Every family should have the freedom to know that joy.”
Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, internationally renowned leader in environmental health, said: “Plastics represent a multidimensional and urgent threat to human health. The scientific evidence is extremely strong for the effects of certain plastic chemicals on our hormones—from cradle to grave and womb to tomb. This is not an abstract or distant concern. It is an issue that should concern us all. We know enough about plastics to act with urgency.”
Last week, Greenpeace USA lit up the New York skyline with a message for World Cup fans: “Defend Your Balls. Dove, Kick Plastic Out.” The projection was part of a campaign calling on Unilever to phase out plastic packaging, transition to plastic-free, zero-waste, reusable packaging, and support a strong Global Plastics Treaty that cuts plastic production.
Contacts:
Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA, +1 703 342 9226. [email protected]
Greenpeace USA Press Desk: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA (Inc.) is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
