Should glitter be banned on Christmas cards?

This Christmas some of our major retailers are going glitter-free on their own branded Christmas cards, crackers and wrap

In a statement Morrisons said they had got rid of glitter on all of its own-brand greeting cards, wrapping paper, florist items and all other seasonal products.

John Lewis and Waitrose are removing glitter from their seasonal products claiming: “All own-brand cards, crackers, wrapping paper, gift bags are now 100% glitter-free.”

Boots will stop wrapping Christmas presents in single-use plastic packaging; supermarket Tesco will only use edible glitter; and supermarket Sainsbury’s is eliminating glitter from cards, wrapping paper and gift bags and reducing it for decorations, crackers and festive bouquets.

Why the change?

The movement against glitter has been growing alongside an awareness of the dangers of microplastics because pretty though it may be, glitter is a type of microplastic – a plastic that is 5 millimetres in diameter or less – and can end up polluting our oceans, being ingested by fish and birds and becoming an environmental disaster. Major retailers in the UK are bowing to public pressure

The jury’s out

However, independent scientists tell us that glitter only counts for less than 1% of microplastics in the environment and it is difficult to say what impact a ban would have.

So, the jury is out, but environmentalists believe a glitter ban is a step in the right direction and the difference would be when the UK government ultimately eliminates single-use plastic altogether.

Friends of the Earth campaigner Tony Bosworth says, “We must go much further to end the scourge of plastic pollution.”

What are your views? Would you be happy to go glitter-free this Christmas? Or do you think we need a bit of sparkle to enjoy the festive season?