Erika Raab
Glitter is being hoarded in the EU at the moment.
The European Commission has announced the ban of synthetic polymer particles smaller than 5mm that resist degradation. Although the ban itself has more to do with products than just glitter, it is one of the first products to be banned completely as of October 15th 2023, along with microbeads.
As a result, there has been hype on social media, as well as in real life, with the consequence being people trying to buy large quantities of glitter before it will no longer be possible to do so in the EU.
The measures for the restriction of microplastics were confirmed on September 30th. In general, this pertains to a plan to reduce microplastics pollution by 30% no later than 2030, as stated in the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
As microplastics are released into the environment on a large scale and cause irreversible damage to our environment, the European Commission has made plans similar to the one mentioned above in order to reduce,as much as possible, the impact they have.
This is an important step towards making a positive impact on our environment because we see plastic in general, and especially microplastics, causing harm to the planet.
Ways that microplastics negatively affect the environment include animals swallowing them, which causes disease. The particles also absorb toxic chemicals. And the sheer amount of all microplastics polluting the planet without being properly degradable.
However, if you think this means there will be no more glitter whatsoever in the EU anymore, you would be wrong. The good news is that there are alternative, biodegradable options for glitter. They may be more expensive at the moment, but once the market is forced to open up to them, the prices will eventually drop. Glitter will easily be accessible again.
A sector of the market that will probably be most affected is cosmetics. Companies will have to find alternative ingredients for their products soon. Rinse-off cosmetics, such as shampoo and conditioner, have to be free of synthetic polymer particles as of October 16th, 2027.
It may seem like there‘s still a lot of time until then but for a company to change their entire production process, this is a short time frame.
Other microplastics in specific cosmetics, such as those used in leave-on cosmetics are to be banned as of October 2029. Other products like make-up, lip and nail cosmetics, have until 2035 to make sure they follow new regulations. In that case, the companies have more time to prepare and change their process of production or develop new products.
Even though certain products with the specific microplastics will only be banned in a few years, there is a mass of people panicking that their favorite products might not be available anymore since the European Commission released their statement in late September.
Luckily there are also many people spreading information about alternatives and the unlikelihood of certain products disappearing completely from the market.
With this new ban in place, the EU is hopefully taking an important step towards helping the environment. Even if this is an inconvenience to multiple companies at first, it will send a message worldwide that the protection and restoration of our environment should be a priority.
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