Glitter | Fatal Conveniences™

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All that glitters is gold, right? That may be just a line from a song. But the truth is that humans have found ways to decorate the things around us to glitter and shine for thousands of years. It doesn’t matter if it’s an art project, a sparkly outfit or glowing makeup– people LOVE glitter. But what are these tiny bits of plastic doing to our bodies, and to the planet? The answer may surprise you.

WELCOME TO Fatal Conveniences™.

Glitter is just shiny bits of toxic microplastics. But it sparkles, so we love it.

Before plastic glitter existed, ancient cultures used to use bits of mica to make their skin sparkle. As humans, we have a primal instinct to be attracted to things that shine and glow. But this attraction has no pay off, in fact it’s the exact opposite. Today’s modern glitter is made from microplastics. These little bits of plastic seep into your body, and into the planet, causing damage to every living thing they come in contact with.

Glitter doesn’t go away– and it can’t be recycled. So once it’s in the environment, it’s not going anywhere. These little toxic bits of plastic will mess with your hormones, kill off fish and wildlife, and change the chemical makeup of the soil. All for a little sparkle.

In this episode, 

we dive into the interesting history of humankind’s fascination with glitter and why we’re prone to love sparkly things. And we get into just how microplastics are destroying our health, and the health of our planet. But don’t worry, it’s not too hard to avoid glitter, you just have to know where to look. Instead of adding glitter to your day, be the sparkle instead!