Bioglitter™: The World's Only Certified Fresh Water
Biodegradable Glitter Brand

The Bioglitter Journey………  

How It All Began

Initiated by conversations in 2010 with selected forward-thinking cosmetic manufacturers, we became increasingly aware of the potential issues with small plastic particles in the environment.  As a glitter company, we felt duty-bound to offer an eco-friendly alternative.

Forging a new way forward takes time and inevitably we have discovered lots of ways of how not to do it!  It was a huge challenge, however, Bioglitter™ is the culmination of many years of research and development.  A multi-range family of eco-friendly glitters the majority of which are TÜV OK biodegradable WATER certified.

The Original Game Changer – Bioglitter™ SPARKLE

In 2016 we officially launched Bioglitter™ SPARKLE to the global market, the world’s first glitter independently proven to have very high performance in natural, freshwater biodegradation testing.

The product received rave reviews and still does, it’s first award being, in-cosmetics global – Gold for Innovation 2017 and latest award PCHI Fountain Awards China 2019 winner in the Green and Sustainability category.

The core of Bioglitter™ SPARKLE is a special high-tech form of naturally biodegradable cellulose, unique to Bioglitter™.  This core in its own right possesses excellent eco-credentials; certified compostable in both industrial composting (EN13432, EN14995, ASTM D6400, ISO17088) and home composting environments (TÜV OK compost HOME) and Waste Water biodegradation approved to ISO15986.  However, talking about the biodegradability virtues of the glitter core does not confirm the biodegradability performance of the actual finished or whole glitter product.

Through independent testing to ISO14851 and ISO14852 fresh water biodegradability, we proved that Bioglitter™ SPARKLE biodegrades very well in the very challenging natural environment of rivers and lakes.  The test showed the majority of the product (87%) degraded away in just a month.  However, as the original Bioglitter™ SPARKLE contained a small amount of plastic material in the colour coating it fell short of meeting freshwater biodegradable certification by just 3%.  Nevertheless, it’s a huge step in the right direction with most of the plastic/microplastic removed.

This result proved the technical principles of our base technology, manufacturing methods and that Bioglitter™ would biodegrade unhindered after conversion to a finished Bioglitter™ product.  With this confirmation we had a solid foundation on which to build our R&D efforts to remove further plastic and achieve our goals of independent fresh water biodegradability certification.

GOAL – Bioglitter™ PURE, the World’s first independently certified fresh water biodegradable glitter

With Bioglitter™ SPARKLE providing us with a solid foundation on which to build and develop, we innovated a completely new product technology, TÜV ‘OK biodegradable WATER’ certified Bioglitter™ PURE.  This is the highest level of independent certification for fresh water biodegradability in the world.

We launched the prototype version of Bioglitter™ PURE at the largest cosmetic raw materials industry show in 2018 and again received international acclaim, picking up a second in-cosmetics global – Gold for Innovation 2018.

Bioglitter™ PURE uses the same cellulose core as Bioglitter™ SPARKLE, but we’ve combined that with our new natural coating.

Opalescent – Iridescent Glitter Reinvented – Bioglitter™ PURE

Due to the physical properties and chemistry of the raw materials used in Bioglitter™,  it is not possible to re-create the structure of a traditional iridescent glitter. Therefore, we have had to take a completely different approach when creating an eco-friendly iridescent.  Bioglitter™ PURE is the result, a range of ‘natural’ (soft iridescent) and opalescent (mother of pearl) effects.

Although Bioglitter™ PURE products do not have a reflective aluminium layer and consequently are less brilliant than Bioglitter™ SPARKLE, they do offer a novel opalescent/iridescent effect with enhanced formulation compatibility.

Bioglitter™ SPARKLE becomes TÜV ‘OK biodegradable WATER’ certified

2021 – launch our latest innovation in Bioglitter™ SPARKLE technology.  Deco Bioglitter™ SPARKLE GC and Craft Bioglitter™ GC ranges have joined the list of ‘OK biodegradable WATER’ certified products offered by Ronald Britton, which is another significant step on the Bioglitter™ journey.  The coating in the new Bioglitter™ SPARKLE GC ranges removes the acrylate plastic applied to the film, enabling the product to achieve the coveted fresh water biodegradable certification from TÜV.

Plans For The Future

Cosmetic Bioglitter™ SPARKLE with its independently proven high biodegradation performance in fresh water, second only to Cosmetic Bioglitter™ PURE, still remains the most high performing eco-friendly cosmetic glitter range on the market.  Nevertheless, we continue to invest in the development of our Cosmetic Bioglitter™ SPARKLE range, to remove the last bits of plastic and achieve our goal of independent fresh water certification.

We are also hard at work in utilising our proven Bioglitter™ technology to expand our range of Bioglitter™ effects; Holo, Bioglitter™ PURE Iridescent effects.

So please keep watching this space!

Bioglitter™ – Setting THE standard in authenticated eco-friendly glitters

#GuiltFreeGlitter for ALL is our Goal!