Festival season has started, we’re only a few weeks from Glasto, and I thought it was about time to write another company spotlight on my favourite sparkly stuff (specifically Eco Glitter Fun). However, we all know the world has woken up to how damaging plastics and micro plastics are. I made the decision at the end of last year to not use any non-biodegradable glitter again myself, and festivals themselves seem to have followed suit. In 2019, lots of festivals have banned plastic glitter from their sites which is great to hear.
I realise however I’m late to the game here! Some companies have been shouting about the nastiness of plastic glitter for years, and once such UK company has been passionate about this since 2016, and that is Eco Glitter Fun. I love their glitter mixes and I can’t wait to have them all over my face this summer! I managed to pin co-founder Sophie down for a little interview, so I’ll let her tell you all about their sparkles!
Hi Sophie! Tell me, how was the eco glitter fun vision born? Which environmental concerns were a driving force behind your idea?
After discovering glitter was a microplastic in the summer of 2016 I was determined to find an alternative. I found a company called Ronald Britton Ltd who were manufacturing their newly developed biodegradable alternative made from a modified regenerated cellulose film, Bioglitter®. This glitter was fairly unheard of with just a couple of companies globally purchasing from them and selling to end users. The companies I found were selling in plastic pots, which seemed absolutely crazy to me. So, this is how the idea of Eco Glitter Fun was born. Eco-friendly glitter in plastic-free packaging. I recruited my best friend Noemi to join in my venture and with the help of our friends and family we started Eco Glitter Fun in December 2016. We also use eco glitter to begin the discussion on more serious plastic pollution and consumption topics.
Tell us a little more about your eco glitter? What makes it different?
We are licensed resellers of both Bioglitter® PURE and Bioglitter® SPARKLE.
They are both made from Modified Regenerated Cellulose and tested to prove that once in the natural environment microbes will consume the biodegradable content over a period of weeks and months. Sounds like magic right!!!
What’s your favourite colour of eco glitter?
Ahh that’s a pretty much impossible question to answer…. However, our Aqua and Rosa Uber disco ball blends are the ones I always look back in pictures and find myself wearing!
What are Eco Glitter Fun’s plan for the summer?
We are extremely excited to be trading at Glastonbury this year. It’s my 20-year anniversary of my first time so feels great to be glittering there.
I think it’s going to be a wild week! Especially as my birthday on the Saturday!
Early July is our busiest weekend of the year. We’ll be at Pride in London. We are already booked for events all over the city as well as a stall in Soho Square.
We then have Soul Circus in July. A wellbeing festival where music, yoga and holistic therapies meets glittery, festival antics and after parties.
The last weekend in August is Creamfields, always a good one to finish off the season with!
Which festivals did you have a stall at last year?
We did a ton! We started off the summer with a bang at We Are Fstvl, then did British Summer Time, Latitude, Defected in Croatia, Neverworld, Creamfields and wrapping up with Wonderland in September!! It was super fun but really exhausting, that’s why this year we’ve decided to do just a handful.
Any tips on how be more Eco-Friendly at Festivals?
- Travel together – Car share or take a look for what public transport options are available. You might be surprised – there are usually various transport options, often put on by the festival themselves or the local area to help you get to and from the festival safely and in a greener way. It also means you might meet some interesting people along the way – start your festival from the beginning of the journey – we have met some of our closest friends that way!
- Invest in your Tent – Buy a decent tent which you can use over and over again rather than ditching after every festival. We know it’s a pain cleaning up afterwards, but just think about the effort which needs to go into disposing of your old tent and making you a new one next time around. Plus think of the extra pennies you’ll save over time which you can spend on eco glitter!
- Ditch the Plastic Gems – we know they are sparkly, but they are also single use plastics (mostly) and we are all too busy dancing and having a great time to notice them falling off. Often, they end up landing directly onto the earth and never degrade or get recycled. Switching completely to biodegradable glitter is all the sparkle you need – and you know it won’t be costing the Earth.
- Refill and Hydrate – Bringing your own water bottle/cup not only saves the planet but massively saves you cash. Imagine all those pennies saved by not having to buy expensive water every time you need to hydrate?! It makes sense, ditch the single use plastic bottles and take your own refillable bottle/cup. Your bank balance would totally agree.
- Be a clean freak – What happens at a festival doesn’t need to stay at the festival. Don’t be a slob, tidy up after yourself and recycle any waste properly so it doesn’t end up in landfill. Make sure you leave with a clean ‘green eco’ conscience.
There are loads more but add these ones to your list – we will be. Even if you manage just one thing, at least it’s a start and better than none.
I love that your eco-tips so closely resemble my own ethos and the message I’m trying to spread here at WMT!
Thank you Sophie for speaking to me! I’ll definitely be coming to find you and say hi at Glastonbury!
Make sure you check out ecoglitterfun.com and pick yourself up some guilt-free sparkles in time for the summer!
