Some celebrities in Germany are panic buying glitter ahead of a new EU regulation which will ban products containing microplastics.

Former German Big Brother housemate panic buys 82 packets of glitter

“I am truly shocked by it. In my world everything has to do with glitter,” former contestant on Big Brother Germany, Sam Dylan, told the tabloid newspaper Bild recently.

Dylan, who is from Lower Saxony, is one of the minor German celebrities and influencers who are panic buying since the EU announced that it will ban loose glitter in an effort to tackle polluting microplastics. The ban will come into effect from October 15 and will see many kinds of nail varnish, make-up, face paint or skincare products be removed from the shelves or redeveloped.

Dylan admitted that he has now spent around 180 euros on 82 packets of glitter powder in advance of the regulation change. Fellow b-list celebrity Luca Valentino condemned the new law, saying that the EU was “taking away the last sparks of glamour”.

While they are more expensive, there are of course already plastic-free glitter products which are biodegradable.

What exactly are microplastics? 

Microplastics are particles smaller than 5mm in size that are resistant to degradation. They can be found in everything from cosmetics and toothpaste to fabric softeners and medical equipment. Though the first fragments of microplastics were discovered in the open ocean in the 1970s, the term was only coined by marine biologist Richard Thompson in 2004.

Microplastics can also be found in drinking water all over the world, and in recent years scientists have discovered the first cases of microplastics in breast milk and in the placenta of unborn babies. According to a 2019 study by the WWF, people in Germany eat a credit card's worth of microplastics each week.

Glitter is just the tip of the microplastic iceberg. Over time the imminent EU ban will be expanded to include other products containing microplastics, such as the material used for fake grass and astroturf on sports grounds. The European Commission estimates that the ban will prevent around half a million tonnes of microplastics from being disposed of in the natural environment.

Thumb image credit: Alexander Lukatskiy / Shutterstock.com