The war on glitter is well underway, with many calling for the micro plastic to be banned. Despite this however, the beauty industry has seen a serious spike in glitter sales.
Unseasonably warm weather alongside festival season has seen the sale of glitter cosmetics [in the UK] hit £300,000 in less than one month, with more than 60,000 products sold between June 25 - July 21, 2018.
The statistics from market research company IRI revealed that face glitter had the highest sales growth, up 51 per cent to £126,000, followed by eye glitter at £138,000, an increase of 50 per cent.
There are calls from scientists and environmentalists across the globe to ban glitter – or at least make it biodegradable – as the small, colourful particles of shimmer do not break down. This means that glitter can be ingested by animals and make its way into the food chain.
Speaking with The Independent, Massey University senior lecturer and environmental anthropologist, Dr Trisia Farrelly, said "I think all glitter should be banned, because it's microplastic."
While Australia has been unsuccessful in its attempts to get micro plastics banned, most recently the UK banned plastic microbeads from beauty products in efforts to stop environmental disruption.
