..to mention avoiding glitter again - especially if you love The Blue Planet

[kinkajoukid]

Just to raise awareness of this topic again. Please think about avoiding glitter and so reduce the terrible damage that humans are doing to the planet, oceans and our food chain.

Its pretty and sparkly yes, but so damaging. Lets not hasten our own demise... we have Kim Jong Un and Trump for that!

bump

Or use bio degradable eco glitter instead!

Totally agree with you kinka - we can't carry on polluting the earth at the rate we are.

I agree, and maybe cut down on plastic where ever possible. Its terribly sad what our waste does to the ocean eco system.

I don't really know what the issues with glitter are? Is it like the tiny plastic balls in beauty products?

@CuppaSarah Yes exactly, it doesn't decay and ends up floating in the ocean like the microbeads and other plastics. It's so small that fish and other wildlife mistake it for food and it can do them serious damage.

There's now a new product on the market, aimed at children to sprinkle in the garden on Christmas Eve for the Reindeer:

Urgent plea from the RSPCA - 'Reindeer Food:
Urgent plea to save garden wildlife from harm this Christmas!
If your child has made pretty reindeer food please do not 'sprinkle on the lawn' as the labels suggest as many of our very hungry small garden birds and mammals could ingest the plastic and foil glitter along with the oats, potentially causing long term damage to their digestive systems (this includes 'edible glitter' which was made to be safe for humans but poses a serious threat to wild animals like birds). Please instead leave in a small bowl indoors alongside Father Christmas's mince pie. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I knew about the micro beads but not glitter. The only glitter I come across myself these days, sons grown up, is on greeting cards, I'll avoid them.

I too knew about microbeads but not glitter.
I know two schools who give out 'Reindeer Food' packs to kids at Christmas. We will not be sprinkling it this year.
Thanks, OP.x

YANBU. Love glitter, but wouldn't have thought of it as being harmful without it being pointed out (silly, really, just didn't think it was micro plastic).Saw the RSPCA plea about the reindeer food on Facebook and glad they've put that plea out, as not everyone will be aware.
I've never bought it but I have seen it in the shops and that wouldn't have occurred to me before so bet there's thousands of others also unaware.

Perhaps anyone with children at schools who are proposing to dole out packs of 'Reindeer Food' may be interested in this link, also provided by the RSPCA, for home-made Reindeer Christmas Eve treats (they're probably fed up with carrots) And it could be incorporated into the school Christmas activities leading up to the festive season, alongside (or instead of) the doylie angels and crepe paper snowmen, etc:

www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/seasonal/christmas/reindeer/-/articleName/XmasReindeerFood

Thank you for all your replies!! A unanimous AIBU so far!!

I was so happy to see the eco thread the other day that when I read about this being raised in the news, I thought I would be brave and also post it here!

Yes, to reducing all plastic and microbeads :) the sparkly reindeer food seems a but fun until you realise what it is. Just say no kids!

and say not to.... TINSEL!!! back to lovely paper chains, snowflakes cut out from folded toilet roll and a few bits home made from aluminium that can be recycled.

I wanted to tweet Nicole Sherzinger about microbeads because she promotes a brand/product that uses them, but I don't have twitter and I think it would look like spam coming from a brand new account. I thought winning her over might do wonders for the environment!!

Please forgive my ignorance but could someone tell me how glitter and all the plastic ends up in the ocean? If we're not flushing the glitter down the plughole or toilet or littering beaches etc with the sheer volume that seems to be getting into the oceans? Sorry if that seems really stupid but I've been wondering.

and say not to.... TINSEL!!!

Get fucked. Tinsel is awesome. Unless I'm fly tipping it straight in to the sea what damage is that doing?

Glitter gets everywhere. It will be on your clothes and your floors. When you wash your clothes or mop your floors, the glittery waste water goes down the drain and is then in the water system, which is how it gets into the sea.

Plastic waste is often shipped abroad to countries without established recycling programmes, where it is often simply dumped in the sea. Or it could fall off the container ships on the way there.

I've just bought some eco glitter. I am avoiding all glitter products from now on.

#tinselgate

I was totally clueless about this until the other day- I knew about micro beads, but had never considered glitter. I won’t be buying anything glittery this year!

Apparently the eco glitter will only biodegrade when in sunlight. Something to consider.

I had never thought of glitter either, but will avoid

Has there been any vast decrease in sales of Chinese lanterns since all the awareness raising about that? Anecdotally, have balloon releases declined?

I knew there was a good reason why glitter is banned in our house ;)

Last Christmas I was given some flowers which had glitter painted on them. It meant I had to put them in the bin rather than on the compost heap

I have a big jar of glitter at work (a school). What's the best way to dispose of it?

I've just invested in some biodegradable glitter which is made from cellulose.

Many supposedly eco-glitters are made from mica, which is predominantly sourced from mines in India where child labour is endemic.

The one I'm using is called Glitterlution, but there are other good ones, I've got a list somewhere.

OMG! I am so naive. I didn’t know this about glitter either. I do love glitter but I will try not to buy anything glittery this year (unfortunately already bought tags with glitter on them) - now I’ve written the word glitter too many times and it looks weird .

Thanks for this thread, it has opened my eyes