Eco-friendly glitter?

Why you should avoid glitter, including some eco-glitters, plus what glitter to use or make if you can't:

Glitter is a micro-plastic. Micro-plastics have become pervasive pollutants that are present in our blood, organs, water, food and virtually every crevice of earth. Therefore, regular glitter should be avoided at all costs.

To counter this problem, 'eco-friendly' plant-based glitter is now being produced and sold.

Are eco-friendly glitters truly biodegradable?

Due to greenwashing and leeway in labelling, manufacturers can label glitter as eco-friendly or biodegradable when it truly is not. Cellophane-based, cellulose acetate and modified regenerated cellulose glitters are all plant-based but NOT biodegradable. Meanwhile, compostable glitter will only break down under specific temperatures, a particular amount of pressure and the right bacteria environment- whilst PLA glitter will only be broken down through a process called hydrolysis at high temperatures. Thus, these two plant-based glitters must be taken to industrial firms that can perform these activities to be truly eco-friendly. Otherwise, eco-glitter can be just as harmful as plastic glitter.

Bioglitter is currently the only glitter manufacturer that has been independently certified to biodegrade in normal conditions in the natural environment, including in fresh water. It is 100% plastic-free and is made from regenerated eucalyptus cellulose that is responsibly sourced. You can additionally use the OK compost biodegradable certification to check if other glitters come to meet this achievement.

Positively, there is edible glitter! These are biodegradable and eco-friendly. However you need to be wary; manufacturer cheekiness/ label falseness exists here too. Please note that non-toxic DOES NOT mean edible and that there are numerous products that promote themselves as edible when they are not. Make sure your glitter has 'edible' on it and/ or that you can read all the ingredients and they are all edible. Common ingredients in edible glitter or dust include sugar, acacia (gum arabic), maltodextrin, cornstarch, and color additives specifically approved for food use, including mica-based pearlescent pigments and FD&C colors such as FD&C Blue No. 1.

Make your own biodegradable glitter!

There exist numerous recipes for making edible glitter online.

To make non-edible glitter, all you need to do is:

• Place one tablespoon of salt in a glass jar.

• Add a few drops of eco-friendly paint or food color into the salt.

• Mix the two ingredients ensuring the salt doesn’t dissolve.

• Spread out the mixture on a dry surface and allow the salt granules to dry for one day.

• Use the salt glitters on your arts and crafts.