What is a Glitter made of?
What is a Glitter made of?
Aluminium-coated polyester film, colour-coated and chopped into fragments — by definition a microplastic.
Every particle of conventional craft or cosmetic glitter is a piece of plastic under 5 mm across, which puts it squarely inside the standard definition of a microplastic. It is small enough and light enough to pass through wastewater treatment, and it turns up in sediment and in freshwater invertebrates. The EU restricted the sale of loose plastic glitter under its microplastics regulation in October 2023, with longer transition periods for cosmetics. Alternatives are made from regenerated cellulose from eucalyptus with a mineral or aluminium coating, though research has found that cellulose glitter is not automatically harmless in freshwater either, and the coatings are usually still synthetic.
Component by component
| Part | Material | Why that material |
|---|---|---|
| film | polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, typically 12-50 µm thick | PET is dimensionally stable, takes a vacuum-deposited metal layer cleanly, and can be cut without curling. |
| reflective layer | aluminium, vacuum-deposited a few tens of nanometres thick | Aluminium is the cheapest metal that gives near-mirror reflectivity, and at that thickness it uses almost no material. |
| colour layer | tinted lacquer, or alternating thin films that give an iridescent shift | Colour by thin-film interference changes with viewing angle, which is the effect that separates glitter from coloured plastic. |
| shape | hexagons, squares or bars die-cut from the coated web | Hexagons tile the film with no waste, and flat facets flash as they catch light at different angles. |
Other stationery and paper objects
- Pencil Graphite mixed with clay and fired, glued inside two grooved halves of softwood. No lead, ever.
- Paper Cellulose fibres from wood pulp, plus up to a third mineral filler, sizing and brightener.
- Ballpoint pen A tungsten carbide ball a millimetre across, rolling in a brass socket, fed by thick oil-based ink.
- Crayon Paraffin wax with pigment stirred in, poured hot into a mould and cooled. Almost nothing else.
- Cardboard Two flat kraft paper liners glued either side of a fluted paper medium — the flutes do all the work.
- Eraser Either natural rubber with fine abrasive and oil, or plasticised PVC — two different ways of lifting graphite.
- Blackboard chalk Mostly calcium sulfate — plaster of Paris — rather than the calcium carbonate the name suggests.
- Playing card Two sheets of paper laminated around a black glue core, then coated in plastic — or solid PVC.
- Postage stamp Coated paper with phosphor bands, printed in security inks, on either water-activated gum or a self-adhesive.
Common questions
- What is a Glitter made of?
- Aluminium-coated polyester film, colour-coated and chopped into fragments — by definition a microplastic.
- What is the film of a Glitter made of?
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, typically 12-50 µm thick. PET is dimensionally stable, takes a vacuum-deposited metal layer cleanly, and can be cut without curling.
- What is the reflective layer of a Glitter made of?
- Aluminium, vacuum-deposited a few tens of nanometres thick. Aluminium is the cheapest metal that gives near-mirror reflectivity, and at that thickness it uses almost no material.
Related pages
- Pencil Graphite mixed with clay and fired, glued inside two grooved halves of softwood. No lead, ever.
- Paper Cellulose fibres from wood pulp, plus up to a third mineral filler, sizing and brightener.
- Ballpoint pen A tungsten carbide ball a millimetre across, rolling in a brass socket, fed by thick oil-based ink.
- Crayon Paraffin wax with pigment stirred in, poured hot into a mould and cooled. Almost nothing else.
- Cardboard Two flat kraft paper liners glued either side of a fluted paper medium — the flutes do all the work.
- Eraser Either natural rubber with fine abrasive and oil, or plasticised PVC — two different ways of lifting graphite.
- Blackboard chalk Mostly calcium sulfate — plaster of Paris — rather than the calcium carbonate the name suggests.
- Playing card Two sheets of paper laminated around a black glue core, then coated in plastic — or solid PVC.
- Tennis ball Sport and games
- Banknote Around the house
- Golf ball Sport and games
- Glass Building materials
- Soccer ball Sport and games
- Marshmallow Food and drink
Sources
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place