BUT GLITTER DOES NOT SPARKLE
Just for fun they say,
but at what cost?
Glitter is litter and The Plastic Soup Foundation is calling for making everything glitter-free.
Plenty of summer festivals are upon us, as the weather gets warmer. Many choose to buy glitter to smother over their faces and bodies to look sparkly and creative, but do you really know what glitter actually is? Written by The Plastic Soup Foundation, they state six facts of glitter, also known as microplastic particles:
- they are made of plastic, coated with aluminium
- they easily end up in the environment
- they do not disintegrate in the environment naturally
- once in the environment, it is impossible to clear them away
- they can be eaten by animals
- the tiniest glitter particles can be inhaled.
So while you may think they are sparkly and cheerful to look at, they are actually a problem for the environment. What makes them a HUGE problem is that glitter is everywhere! In paint, nail polish, soap, cards, creams, powders, lipsticks, inks, paper, shoes, shampoos, mascaras, glue, toys, spray cans, the list is endless.
"The little vials with glitter on the shelves are actually entirely filled with microplastics. Glitter products are not essential or necessary. They don’t cure people and they don’t have no nutritional value, for instance. They are made exclusively for beautification of one-self or products, such as for e.g. festivals or parties."
Can we really still claim ignorance?
According to https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2023/05/glitterlitter/ there was a programme which had six different brands of 'bio-glitter' said to be biodegradable in the environment. However, these brands were examined by a professor and none were found to be truly biodegradable.
The Plastic Soup Foundation's answer to the environmental problem of glitter? To Stop it and ban it. Hold the producers accountable. Is this the answer?
Found out more about what The Plastic Soup Foundation are doing at: https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/
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Sources:
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2023/05/glitterlitter/
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2018/12/ban-and-avoid-plastic-glitters/