With such a push against single use plastic and mirco plastics etc. Why is glitter left untouched? surely it has to be one of the worse plastic pollutants. Currently getting our Christmas shop ready, and its on everything and gets everywhere!
Seeing the comments here and people donโt even realise how widespread glitter is. Itโs in everything and used in a variety of industries. From pharmaceuticals to construction, to transport, vehicles, militaryโฆ in fact the one of the biggest consumers of glitter is kept secret so who knows, could be the military. It wonโt surprise me. We really need to find an alternative.
I thought i read somewhere that the biggest consumers of glitter are the auto makers because itโs in nearly all the paint.
That sparkly quartz kitchen top? Yeahโฆcrushed quartz and glitter to make it sparkle. As I said, itโs everywhere.
Interesting. Not surprising, but thatโs one I didnโt think about.
Still, thatโs one use thatโs not making anything worse, right? I mean, that counter is going to be used for decades, and when it does go to the landfill, the glitter in it is hardly going to make a difference.
Best guess seems to be Crest Toothpaste
https://www.dentalbuzz.com/2014/03/04/crest-imbeds-plastic-in-our-gums/
This is from 2014. Can you still buy these products in the US?
At least in the EU, solid microplastics within cosmetics have been forbidden since 2018 (silicones etc. are still allowed unfortunately).
Iโll never argue in favor of glitter, but if weโre discussing micro plastics thereโs this:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-43023-x
All the synthetic shit cloth you wear and/or sleep on has impact.
Likely to make more impact on this microplastic by buying cotton or bamboo than trying to ban glitter.
Damn, dude. I never even thought of synthetic fabrics as a source. Plastic is one of the worst things we could have ever made.
Itโs also one of the most useful things weโve ever made. Medical devices alone. The problem is mismanagement and overuse for profit by bad actors who lied to the world and said not to worry cause itโs all being reused again and again in this closed feedback loop called recycling
Iโd be surprised if there isnโt a company making biodegradable glitter
one quick DDG search, first result: https://thegoodglitter.com/
I find their suggestions for DIY glitter questionable, and I couldnโt tell you if all the articleโs information is accurate, but Sustainable Jungleโs evaluation of current biodegradable glitters is worth a read, if youโre interested in glitter formulas.
Tl;dr There is active research into cellulose nanocrystals for glitter, which would still have some ecologically negative impacts, but otherwise everything on the market is likely greenwashing, to various degrees.
Edible glitter already exists. Iโd have to imagine that it is also biodegradable.
I wouldnโt think it would have to be biodegradable, just inert and non-poisonous
Iโd be surprised if there is, seeing as glitter is made from plastic and aluminium
Itโs also apparently used in certain types of kitchen surfaces (quartz or granite if iโm not mistaken) to give them a sparkly finish, not too sure people would be happy to find their kitchen surfaces shine โbiodegradedโ and looking duller after half a century lol
The biggest culprits are probably polyester and acrylic fabrics, plus tiresโฆ and there isnโt likely to be a will to do anything about those. But yeah, glitter is annoying.
Overall, there is just not a lot of plastic in glitter. Itโs incredible thin. Itโs like aluminium foil, while we use a lot of meters of foil as households, the kg used is quite little given the surface. And glitter is the same. Getting everyone to buy one less plastic chair is more than theyโll use up in glitter over their entire life, basically.
Ah so itโs just tiny tiny little harmless microplastics. That shouldnโt be of any concernโฆ ๐
Glitter isnโt microplastics.
Like, Iโm not saying glitter is not a problematic and rather needless product, but on the list of problematic and rather needless products to get people away from itโs quite far down the list.
The concern is that glitter is smaller and harder to dispose of responsibly. Itโs likely to end up polluting the ground or the water, as opposed to something like a chair, which, having less surface area, and being disposed of as a whole piece after some decades, is not actually going to bleed that much.
