Most glitter contains microplastics, but I’m not ready to shake it off
I still remember the joy of dolling up my Barbies with chunks of pound shop glitter. There is a sense of nostalgia about the sparkly fairy dust that takes me back to being young every time I work on protest signs or paint my face for festivals.
Little did I know that I was one of the 64% of people in the UK who are unaware that glitter contains fragments of plastic smaller than five millimetres across. It can easily pass through water filtration systems, end up in the ocean and endanger marine wildlife.
Following the revelation, sustainability enthusiasts preferred to lose their shimmer than hurt the planet. Many companies have also jumped on the glitter-free wagon.
Selfridges pledged to remove all plastic-based glitter from its stores by 2021, while Glossier will discontinue its popular Glitter Gelée make-up over sustainability concerns.
But is it a step too far to start glitter-shaming?
After years of vigorous research for cruelty-free, free-range and gluten-free products, this time I’m not ready to embark on yet another search for guilt-free-eco-friendly-biodegradable glitter!
The news blog was written for a pilot magazine called Fired Up. Along with my role as picture editor of the magazine, I produced pieces adopting a solutions-based approach to global issues.
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