Why you should Celebrate with Stardust and not Glitter this Christmas

SEASON 2 – EPISODE 2 – Why you should Celebrate with Stardust and not Glitter this Christmas

It is going to be a very strange Holiday Season for most of us this Christmas as Covid-19 and local rules will restrict our usual plans to celebrate with our extended families and friends.

So whilst we turn our thoughts early to how we might all plan Christmas we should also be thinking about our use of glitter and the devastating effect these tiny little sparkling toxins are already having on our planet. Some supermarkets are banning conventional glitter from their own brand festive ranges this year, and whilst that might sound great, the devil is in the detail.

Biodegradable glitter causes the same ecological damage to rivers, seas, oceans and lakes as ordinary glitter, according to the first study of its kind on the impact of the microplastic on the environment.

Tests on ordinary glitter and so-called biodegradable or “eco glitter” were carried out by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge.

The production of biodegradable glitter has increased as consumers are urged to turn to apparently environmentally friendly alternatives to glitter made from a type of plastic known as PET.

One version of eco glitter has a core of modified regenerated cellulose, which is coated with aluminium for reflectivity and then topped with a thin plastic layer. Another form is mica glitter, which is increasingly used in cosmetics. The study found that the effects of modified regenerated cellulose and mica glitters on the environment where just as bad as conventional glitter