Should Glitter Be Banned?

Every year during the holidays, my husband and I get into a battle about Christmas glitter. He can't stand glitter and I love it. I think he must have had a bad experience as a child.

You would think that those few times he watched glitter dance around on a stage with a drink in his hand with his buddies would have made him LOVE glitter. But, no. LOL. Even in small amounts drive him crazy, like the tiny amounts on a kid's t-shirt, or the small pieces of glitter on Christmas gifts. He literally breaks out in a sweat at the sight of the shiny magic dust.

My husband may just be a whole lot smarter than I think he is, like scientist smart. After years of tormenting him, I found out there is a real reason that scientists are now saying we should ALL stay away from glitter.

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During the 2920 holiday season, retailers in Britain put a ban on glitter. The reason? It's bad for the environment. According to The Guardian,

Glitter...made from a combination of aluminum and plastic, is a microplastic. However, unlike other microplastics, which are the tiny (between five millimeters and one micrometer) particles into which larger plastic items like bottles disintegrate over time, glitter is sold in its most environmentally hazardous format from the get-go, just for fun.

We’ve known for years that microplastics are problematic, but new studies keep emphasizing just how much of an impact they are having on the environment.

Not everybody agrees with glitter being a threat to the environment. Some call it ridiculous since it would take so much to make any negative impact at all since only 2% of the ocean's pollutants are microplastics.

The problem of plastics negatively affecting our environment is real and needs to be dealt with in a way that will save our planet for the future. But, I'm not sure banning glitter is the answer, even though my husband wishes it was the answer.