www.ecowatch.com: All that glitters ain't gold, or so the old adage goes. And when it comes to the glitter used in everyday cosmetics, specialty make-up, hair products and party paraphernalia, the negative effects on human health and the environment are indeed far from golden.
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As a glitter fanatic, I have to express relief that this article was not solely focused on glitter but on micro plastics as a whole. It's particularly interesting to me, because I feel a significant disconnect between glitter and other micro plastics. I've always been acutely aware of the environmental impacts of micro plastics and micro beads in cosmetics, leading up to the recent Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015. The law banned the sale of wash-off cosmetics containing micro beads, a form of micro plastic that usually is incorporated into face washes in order to provide exfoliation on the skin. Interestingly enough, the law doesn't directly address glitters, even though they cause extremely similar effects on the environment and are often used in the same, disposable manner as their bead-shaped counterpart. Perhaps it's time to address my glitter obsession, and perhaps it's time for companies to begin to attempt to develop more environmentally friendly alternatives to our favorite shiny craft and cosmetic material.
I hate glitter. I hate glitter. I hate glitter. I hate glitter. Okay, I’ll stop, but you get my point. This substance that gets everywhere, on everything, and on everyone is an annoyance that never goes away. It comes in all different colors and is used in costumes, props, on cards, gifts, and so forth. It’s everywhere. It’s also very destructive to not just the environment, but to other things as well. When was the last time you had to spend 3 days using lint rollers to get glitter out of fabric seats in your venue? Be it from a dance costume or an outfit worn out for the evening, glitter is everywhere. As artisans, as designers and creators and collaborators, we should be fully aware of the impact that our waste has on the world around us. The article does a great job explaining about the glitter and micro-plastics that get into our rivers and oceans, but there is glitter in your ground water too. See when you create something with this micro plastic for a play and then it gets thrown out into the landfill, chances are that it will contaminate the ground water somewhere in the process. Using fabric for a costume that contains glitter? That scrap waste goes to the landfill. As artisans, this article does one simple thing; it begins the conversation (or at least it should) about the products we use to create the art that we do and how dangerous those products are to us and to the environment.
Glitter is just bad. I will never willingly use it in any way. This is due to my experiences with it in both theatre and some unfortunate glitter bombs. My reasoning is usually due to the lack of easy cleanup and the fact that one can never get all of it, it never goes away and will follow you until the day one dies!!! This article takes on the whole glitter situation is one that I had never quite given much thought. Which is what happens to this mico inconvenience after we are done with it. It has always been one of those things that I thought just turned to dust since it was so close already. The fact that this was traced down to how and where it goes after use I found surprising. I was surprised that something so small could be causing such problems. Needless to say, I will save this for the next time a green scenic designer wants to add glitter to the set. We also need to find a better way to dispose of this creation from Hell!!
Oh wow. I know that glitter is annoying and gets everywhere. Anyone who has touched a tiny bit of glitter knows that. You’ll find it weeks later still sticking to your clothes and carpet. But I had no idea it is having such a negative impact on the environment, accumulating in the ocean and being eaten by our seafood. Like every other thing that ends up in the ocean, people don’t seem to care when they hear about how badly polluted the ocean is getting because it seems so far removed from themselves, but with this glitter getting eaten by the same animals we eat - or continuing to travel up the food chance to other non-fish animals- it can easily begin to affect everyone, not just those communities who live close to the ocean. Also the article continues to say that these micro plastics are in the sea salt and our tap water. What I am interested in learning more about how this glitter development plays into the larger topic of the pollution of the ocean and if edible glitter is a comparable solution to replace all micro plastic glitter.
Not only is glitter annoying to use and gets on everything, it is also bad for the environment. Glitter is nicknamed the herpes of theatre because you cannot get rid of it once you put it on the stage once. It sticks to everything and gets in the tiniest crevices. If the glitter is sticking everywhere on stage and backstage, that means it is sticking to everything when it is thrown out and sent to the dump. Those small pieces are getting into the water and I imagine animals are breathing them in or swallowing them. It is not safe at all for animals to be inhaling or ingesting small pieces of plastic that are staying in their systems. I think a good way to save the planet and animals is to stop using glitter that much. It will make everyone’s lives easier and better. No one wants to sparkle on the inside if it is killing them.
I’ve been trying to get people to stop using glitter for years. And that was before I knew about all of the environmental and health concerns associated with it. Although, I shouldn’t be surprised given how pervasive even a small amount of the stuff can be. Tiny plastic beads and balls can certainly cause harm. Clearly, this isn’t a change that will happen over night. Even if there is a ban on it, it would most likely start at the manufacturing level. Just because companies stop making it doesn’t mean people won’t stop using it. At least until they run out. There are a lot of products around us that we’d be better off not using. Glitter is just one of them. I’d be willing to bet that there is an eco-friendly glitter solution out there. It may not be cost prohibitive, as is the case with many other eco products. Until the eco-friendly versions of products cost the same or less than their traditional counterparts, I don’t see them becoming mainstream.
Ugh. There goes our option for eating plankton and soilent green when the population grows past our ability to feed everyone. Both of those sources will be contaminated with micro plastics! This article has such depressing statistics. I had never even thought about what the exfoliating beads in face wash were or what glitter was actually made from. I will miss sparkly eye shadow, but we have to stop poisoning all of our food sources! I have seen that there are a couple of companies making biodegradable plastics that are recyclable or will eventually biodegrade if they do end up in the ocean. We should just, as a society, and as people of the world universally switch from petroleum products to alternatives! I think this article was very sneaky in its titling. The Glitter was just the click-bait. The actual crux of the article is about micro plastics and how we need to seriously re-think how we package things and incorporate plastic into so many things in our life that do not need to have plastic anywhere near them.
Like everyone above, I was not aware that glitters are also a kind of micro plastics. I wonder how much more contamination we have caused with the recent online obsession with glitters in making glitter jars and slime, not to mention cosmetics. If we are at a stage where plastic fibers are found in 94% of drinking water, glitters are not the problem. There is a much bigger problem. We need better ways in many things such as water filtering system, plastic decomposition and such for survival. Reading the article did make me think about human evolution that maybe with so much plastic consumption, one day humans will mutate and start utilizing the plastics in the body system. Maybe we'll grow outer shells like turtles, or just grow stronger skin with plastics. It could be useful if the skin can be waterproof. Anyways, I also do not like having to sweep glitters onstage, backstage and foh. But I also enjoy the fun effect. Instead of cutting it out entirely, I would rather want to come up with some other environmentally friendly material that glitters.
I first started reading this article thinking that this author had a silly reason to ban glitter. Maybe it was the fact that it gets everywhere or maybe it was that it stays everywhere, but I didn't expect to read such a persuasive and fact driven article. I had herd briefly before that glitter was harming the environment, but I never thought much of it. How could something so small have such a large impact? Well apparently there is a lot more glitter in this world than I thought. It is alarming to learn about all if the facts surrounding this issue. The fact that these studies have seen significant effects on wildlife is just so sad. Sure, glitter spices up our birthday cards and Halloween costumes but it'd nothing worth a decline in the sex ratio of adjacent human populations. Overall, I am glad that this article brought such proof to back up the widely-loved product.
I remember when legislation was finally passed regarding the regulation of microbeads, such as the ones found in face scrubs and washes. Since glitter and microplastics pose much the same threat, I am surprised that a piece of legislation pertaining to these items wasn't also put forth at the same time. Anyone really - whether in a costume and makeup related industry or not - knows how maddeningly pervasive glitter is in any environment it is introduced to. After being a dance for some years, I primarily know glitter in the context of eye makeup and spray-on glitter for hair, a favorite of my ballet director during Nutcracker season. I also remember the three or so showers it required to get the glitter out of my hair, flushing these tiny particulates directly into the waste management system that has not, and might never be quipped to deal with microplastics. Certainly, I think our best option is to do away with microplastics all together, the best option for the environment and the sanity of stage mothers everywhere.
This article is surprisingly concerning. I had originally thought that glitter was an unhealthy substance to use since it is easy to inhale (who wants glitter in their lungs?) or get in your eyes. Turns out the “herpes of the art world” is much more malicious than that. The studies linked to the article describe highly concerning evidence of plastics in our environment harming humans. The ratio of male to female live births has been declining in areas near plastic factories (we evolved to have more males born than females – since males are more likely to experience genetic problems, health complications, or childhood death). The study says that they are not sure if the birth ratio is changing due to increased sex-specific miscarriages or if fewer males are being conceived. The fact that microplastics are found in 94% of US tap water samples was also a surprise to me. I wonder if a filter would be able to minimize their presence in drinking water? So, glitter is now a concerning substance. While we often try to avoid using it in theater, the microplastic is common in cosmetic products. I will definitely do my best to avoid glitter and other microplastics in my future purchases.
At first when I read this headline I thought it would be from a disgruntled stage hand who had just had an especially bad glitter-related incident, but I was surprised to learn about its environmental impact. I never realized that it shared a lot of properties with micro beads, which I knew had been banned a couple a years ago. If they have a similar environmental impact I’m surprised that this legislation didn’t cover microplastics as a whole. Ultimately if glitter is hazardous to both human health and environmental sustainability we should start looking into a way to make it better if we’re going to continue to use it. Perhaps there’s a way to make a biodegradable glitter, or at least one that doesn’t have toxic chemicals in it. Personally I would not be sad about the loss of theatrical glitter, as I think it far outstays it’s welcome every time it’s used.
I am a strong proponent of the use of glitter, when the situation warrants it. Glitter can be a wonderful thing, when it catches the light just right. However, as with everything, we must be mindful of the consequences of materials. Nobody needs glitter to the extent that it seems to track them through their life; that is simply far too excessive. This article brings up the much larger consequence of glitter beyond its annoying qualities. Awareness towards the environmental impact of our materials is such an important thing, and it, unfortunately, is often forgotten. Those tiny particles infiltrate our waste systems, and they go on to infect the bodies and ecosystems of the creatures of our world. This article acknowledges the much larger problem that we need to address: the use of plastic as a whole in our society. It will take a massive amount of teamwork and creative problem solving for us to find solutions to that problem, but maybe less glitter is a step in the right direction.
I hate glitter with a passion of a burning sun and it truly is the herpes of the arts and crafts world. Glitter some how manages to get everywhere you could possibly imagine and than more, Murphy I'm pretty sure has a Law about that fact. The all said I click on the article expecting rant such as I might have if people were to ask me my feelings on glitter, but the article brushed upon a thought that never really occurred to me, that being the effect on glitter on the environment. The article states "Then there's the domino-like effect of microplastics through the food-chain, for the sheer volume of microplastics consumed by seafood-loving humans is staggering. This study from the University of Ghent found that Europeans who eat shellfish can consume as much as 11,000 microplastics per year." That is just thought that never really crossed my mind during my rage filled tirades against glitter but truely is worth noting. Just proves my point more, glitter is evil.
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