When you think of festive parties — or even a particularly glamorous brand of eyeshadow — glitter might also come to mind. Everything from holiday decorations to greeting cards, as well as makeup and nail polish, are commonly speckled with glitter for a little extra pizzazz. The downside is that it gets everywhere, sticking to unwanted surfaces like skin and clothes, and requires a lot of effort (and patience) to remove.
But glitter isn’t just sparkly and occasionally obnoxious — it’s also bad for the environment. It’s difficult to imagine Christmas and New Year’s celebrations without the sparkles, but it may be time to rethink our use of glitter.