ENVIRONMENT
WHY GLITTER IS SO BAD FOR THE PLANET
How this microplastic wreaks havoc on our bodies and the environment
WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD
S ince the early 20th century, glitter has sparkled its way into nearly every corner of the world.
The concept of glitter has been around since around 40,000 BCE, when ancient civilisations around the world applied shiny minerals called mica, still used today in cosmic highlighters, to bring some sparkle to their faces. However, the pesky plastic variety we’ve come to know and love, or in many cases hate, was invented by American machinist Henry Ruschmann in 1934. Ruschmann invented a mechanical way to grind down plastic in a way that’s reminiscent of paper shredding and wood chipping to make shiny glitter in large quantities.
The sparkly nature of glitter comes from a process called metalisation, which applies an aluminium coating to either side of a piece of plastic film called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). To make the aluminium adhere to the film, it is evaporated in a vacuum chamber and sprayed onto a plastic film. For metallic glitter, a coloured or clear coating is applied over the aluminium layer, while holographic and iridescent glitters use an additional film, which reflects certain wavelengths in the light spectrum. Sheets of glitter plastic are then cut into a variety of shapes and bottled.