Festival season is coming, you can feel it in the air. With festival season comes arguably one of the more important parts, festival fashion! One of the most fun things to see at a festival are the people who are putting incredible work into their costumes, sparkling and glittering in the night; it’s a remarkable sight.
But, one of the things people are forgetting with festival fashion is how much of an impact your accessories and costumes have on the local environment. Some staples of festival wear are causing an incredible ecological crisis, with particles remaining in the dirt or trickling into the natural bodies of water where these festivals take place.
Not to mention the aftermath of cleaning discarded costume pieces. It’s important to recognize and make changes as needed. Fashion is always evolving, and with our current focus on the environment, it’s easier than ever to sparkle and be ecologically conscious. We’ll outline some festival dos and don’ts in this new series, and give you some great alternative options to the current standards.
Glitter
Let’s get the big one out of the way first, shall we? Glitter. It’s the best. It’s versatile, you can use it as an accent, as full face makeup, it can adorn any accessory, and it looks amazing under those festival lights. But, if you’re attending an outdoor festival, especially in the PNW, you’re upsetting a natural ecosystem that has to survive the other 11 months of the year when it’s not full of people. Glitter is one of the number one items on most festival ban lists now, because it is something that people just can’t seem to control. The great thing is, there are so many different brands of biodegradable glitter on the market that it’s possible to still shine and sparkle, without compromising the environment!
Companies like Lush, Nurture Soap, and Wild Bloomery are leading the charge in making people glittery and safe. They are amazing companies all which ship worldwide, so you can get that glittery sheen you want anywhere!
If you want to use cosmetic glitters, please make sure to secure well with a glitter glue, seal it with a makeup setting spray, and only use it on your face. Mixing glitter directly into hair gel or a similar consistency product safe for the skin will help lock it into place and add extra protection from fall out. No matter how careful you are they may still flake off your body from movement, sweating etc. Just know that even when removed and disposed of properly, they are going to take a long time to break down in a landfill.
A great explanation on the ways glitter impacts the environment is available here. You can also take a look at a quick overview on how to safely apply glitter here. All things shed, glitter is always going to come off. No matter what you affix it with, it’s not staying put forever, so knowing that, wouldn’t you want something that will help the environment falling off, rather than something that will sit in a landfill for decades?
What do you think? Has anyone found any cool tips or tricks to make glitter more eco-friendly? Let us know in the comments!
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