What is Greenwashing? Be Aware of Fake Biodegradable Cosmetic Glitter
The demand for more environmentally friendly products is high. However, misleading claims are confusing consumers and instead of helping the planet, they keep damaging it. Although their heart is in the right place, they are misled by claims and end up buying products that contribute to global pollution. This problem is called Greenwashing. If you want to avoid being greenwashed by marketing terms, you will find the next paragraphs very eye-opening.
The planet desperately needs a change in our consumption of plastics and cosmetics to align in this direction. For many years, glitter has contributed to the microplastic pollution on the planet, but a revolutionary biodegradable cosmetic glitter intends to change that. Unfortunately, some may take this opportunity to mislead good-intentioned glitter lovers that end up buying pollutant products thinking they are doing good for the environment.
How to Avoid being a victim of Greenwashing?
First off, you should know that greenwashing is basically presenting a product, service, technology, or company practice as having environmental benefits when actually they do not have many (or none!). Greenwashing can make anything look more environmentally friendly than it really is. The glitter industry is not immune to this trend in marketing and you should know how to avoid being misled by certain terms.
The best ways to avoid being greenwashed include:
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Getting informed and educated on deceiving terminology.
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Looking for products certified by third-party organizations.
In glitter, the only product that can actually guarantee to be a biodegradable cosmetic glitter is the real Bioglitter line (Bioglitter Sparkle, Bioglitter Pure, or Bioglitter Deco), since it is the only Bioglitter that has passed the freshwater test guaranteeing natural biodegradability in any environment. Being called Bioglitter is not enough. You need to make sure that it is the real Bioglitter as there are many products that claim to be the real Bioglitter when they are not.
What Do They Mean by Biodegradable?
One of the most common things in glitter greenwashing is the use of the term “biodegradable”. Unfortunately, many times the use of this term does not include any information about quality or evidence to back up claims. Any reliable bio-glitter should be clear on the following:
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How much it biodegrades
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How long does it take to decompose
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What are the conditions it needs to start its biodegradation process?
Let’s take a closer look at other misleading terms used in glitter greenwashing to learn why calling these products biodegradable cosmetic glitters might be deceiving:
PLA or Polylactic Acid or Polylactide |
It does not decompose in the natural environment. |
Acetate or Cellulose Acetate |
It does not decompose in the natural environment. |
Cellulose |
It does not pass any biodegradability test. |
Microcrystalline Cellulose |
It does not decompose in the natural environment. Glitter cannot be made from this. |
What Is the Real Bio-Glitter?
What makes Bioglitter the real deal in biodegradability is that it has been tested by independent organizations, like TÜV, that guarantees through its OK biodegradable WATER certification that this authentic bio-glitter can biodegrade in just about any environment! It has proven it decomposes like a regular leaf in nature, leaving minimal to no trace in the environment!