Summer 2019Plastic-free glitter created in Rochdale

The world’s first plastic-free glitter has been created by a Rochdale-based glitter manufacturer.

Ronald Britton, on Regent Street, officially launched Bioglitter in early April – the world’s first plastic-free sparkles to tackle the issue of microplastic pollution.

Based on plant materials, Bioglitter Pure is the first glitter to be verified as ‘microplastic free’ by the EU, following the company’s previous low-plastic product, Sparkle.

Traditional glitter is created from plastic, and used in a range of applications from cosmetics to clothing to crafts. A microplastic as it measures under 5mm, glitter can take hundreds of years to degrade which has led to calls from campaigners to ban the material.

Bioglitter aims to change that as Pure is made from a special regenerated cellulose sourced mainly from Eucalyptus and is aluminium-free and extremely low in heavy metals.

Ronald Britton is now in talks with some of the UK’s biggest retailers and international cosmetic brands to replace plastic glitter with the new Bioglitter product. Stephen Cotton, commercial director of Ronald Britton said: “Cosmetic Bioglitter Pure is completely unique in the market; it is the first glitter of its kind in the world to use natural materials and no plastic.

“The issue of plastic waste and microplastics is something we’ve been working towards tackling in glitter for the best part of a decade. Our first step on the Bioglitter journey was the launch of our original Bioglitter product back in 2014, now known as Cosmetic Bioglitter Sparkle.

“Pure takes that one step further and offers the market a new glitter effect that is completely plastic free.”

In addition to its eco-credentials, Bioglitter Pure has recently won two industry awards, including a gold award for innovation at ‘in-cosmetics global’ in 2018 and this year the ‘Green and Sustainable’ award at one of Asia’s most prestigious personal care trade shows, PCHi.

It is completely durable as a glitter in product, but once it enters the natural environment, microbes will digest the glitter turning it into carbon dioxide, water and biomass.

The product passes all current microbead and microplastic legislation and is certified biodegradable in natural freshwater environments, boasting the OK Biodegradable WATER Certification from TÜV, meaning it is guaranteed to biodegrade in a natural, freshwater environment.

Stephen added: “It is no exaggeration to say this is a huge change for the industry, setting a new microplastic-free glitter standard. It truly is a ‘guilt-free glitter’, designed to offer consumers the sparkles they love, but not at a cost to the environment.”

The company is also working alongside cosmetic and retail brands to include Bioglitter in their products, featuring a Bioglitter logo on consumer packaging.