
What Is Glitter? - laurex
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html
======
tzs
Glitter can apparently be used to help solve crimes, according to Wikipedia's
"glitter" article [1]:

> Due to its unique characteristics, glitter has also proven to be useful
> forensic evidence. Because of the tens of thousands of different commercial
> glitters, identical glitter particles can be compelling evidence that a
> suspect has been at a crime scene.

It links to this review article on glitter from a forensic point of view [2].

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitter)

[2]
[https://projects.nfstc.org/trace/docs/final/Blackledge_Glitt...](https://projects.nfstc.org/trace/docs/final/Blackledge_Glitter.pdf)

------
ohadron
Here's a huge thread on Reddit trying to figure out which mystery industry is
the largest buyer of glitter:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/a8hrk0...](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/a8hrk0/which_mystery_industry_is_the_largest_buyer_of/)

No conclusive results yet, but I believe Reddit will deliver.

~~~
cperciva
I thought the answer was right in the article: Automotive paint. They've got a
lot of surface area to cover, and car companies want their vehicles to shine.

~~~
ken
I don't think automotive manufacturers would be worried about people knowing
that their shiny paint contains glitter. Also, there are a lot of cars in the
world, but most just get painted once.

My first guess would be a consumable. Maybe food-related, where we don't
expect (or want) glitter. The "toothpaste" guess sounds like it's on the right
track. "Fast food" wouldn't entirely surprise me, either.

~~~
jey
It's still probably under NDA and the glitter suppliers are contractually
forbidden from revealing their customers. It'd be up to the customer to reveal
it.

------
pjc50
> I have no idea how humans figured out how to do that, or why it occurred to
> them to even try, but it sounds expensive.

I had to check this wasn't Dave Barry writing.

Anyway, this seems to have genuinely been a space age invetion, aluminised
mylar:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BoPET](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BoPET)

(There is no item of "futuristic clothing" that pins a piece of visual SF to a
particular point in history in the 1960s quite like this material. Especially
when used for miniskirts.)

~~~
anigbrowl
_This made sense in theory, but how could aluminum go from being not on the
film to being on the film without at least some Scotch tape? “They evaporate
aluminum and deposit it on it,” said Mr. Shetty. This made sense in theory,
but how could aluminum be evaporated? “It’s a very, very thin layer. They put
it in a vacuum chamber, then evaporate the aluminum,” said Mr. Shetty. “With
heat,” his son added. “What are they evaporating out of it?” I asked.
“Aluminum,” said Mr. Shetty. I have no idea how humans figured out how to do
that, or why it occurred to them to even try, but it sounds expensive._

What's worse, the lack of understanding of high school science among
journalists (Boyle's law and elements changing state are very basic chemistry)
or the the lack of communication skills among scientists?

~~~
bobthepanda
Is this a lack of understanding, or a narrative written with a supposed lack
of understanding to effectively communicate to a general audience? The type of
person reading this is probably not trying to relive a high school science
class.

~~~
anigbrowl
Neither possibility is good. I like science writers that know how to explain
things, not ones that pretend to be stupid to pander to the reader.

------
starbeast
A highly effective tactical weapon in our long standing battle against the sea
and everything that lives there. That damn sea, one of our oldest enemies and
yet it still persists. We'll get the better of it yet though, the big wet
bastard. Glitter production will help enormously and I am delighted to say it
has almost doubled since our recent glitter marketing through social media and
that article in the New York Times.

edit - Some people actually like the sea and dare to speak against our mighty
and patriotic glitter industry -
[https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/glitter-
plastics...](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/glitter-plastics-
ocean-pollution-environment-spd/)

------
JonasJSchreiber
I love the author's humorous descriptions

> Metalization, he explained, is the process by which aluminum is deposited on
> both sides of the film. This made sense in theory, but how could aluminum go
> from being not on the film to being on the film without at least some Scotch
> tape? “They evaporate aluminum and deposit it on it,” said Mr. Shetty. This
> made sense in theory, but how could aluminum be evaporated? “It’s a very,
> very thin layer. They put it in a vacuum chamber, then evaporate the
> aluminum,” said Mr. Shetty. “With heat,” his son added. “What are they
> evaporating out of it?” I asked. “Aluminum,” said Mr. Shetty. I have no idea
> how humans figured out how to do that, or why it occurred to them to even
> try, but it sounds expensive.

------
snorrah
“A way to make long winter nights slightly brighter, despite the offshore
presence of Germans.”

Well that came out of nowhere.

~~~
jpindar
It's referring to this, from earlier in the article:

> A December 1942 article in The Times — possibly the first mention in this
> newspaper of the stuff — advised New York City residents that pitchers of
> evergreen boughs, placed in their windows for the winter holidays, would
> offer “additional scintillation” if “sprinkled with dime-store ‘glitter’ or
> mica.” The pitchers were to replace Christmas candles, which the wartime
> Army had banned after sunset — along with neon signs in Times Square and the
> light from the Statue of Liberty’s torch — after determining that the
> nighttime glow threw offshore Allied vessels into silhouette, transforming
> them into floating U-boat targets.

------
ravenstine
If you enjoyed that article, you might appreciate an episode of Forensic Files
titled "All That Glitters is Gold" where an crime was solved by forensic
analysis of glitter.

Apparently, glitter is not as generic as one might think! And, there are
glitter _collectors_.

------
alexandercrohde
For those unaware, phthalates are linked to decreased testosterone and
potentially other health effects. 1

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate#Endocrine_disruption](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate#Endocrine_disruption)

~~~
mmagin
Not the same thing:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate#Identification_in_pl...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate#Identification_in_plastics)

~~~
alexandercrohde
Mildly different, but still a pthalate. Guilty until proven innocent when it
comes to endocrine disrupters imho.

Commentary published in Environmental Health Perspectives in April 2010
suggested that PET might yield endocrine disruptors under conditions of common
use and recommended research on this topic.[26]

------
robertAngst
I'll say it-

The US Military

And not because its particularly useful, but as a method to funnel money from
taxpayers into a few glitter companies. They play along and everyone makes
money.

This passes the- "Why is it a Secret", "Why it can be a secret", and "Why they
buy so much".

~~~
Spooky23
I would not necessarily make that assumption. See:
[https://cyberarms.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/the-weapon-
that-d...](https://cyberarms.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/the-weapon-that-
disabled-iraqs-power-grid/)

Something simple like chaff could have all sorts of interesting properties
depending on shape, size, method of manufacturing, etc.

~~~
robertAngst
This only further reinforces the idea though.

They have a legitimate reason to buy it. Why not cronyism at the same time?

This would explain the industry leading quantities as well.

------
dangban
Whatever it may be, it's likely not safe for living things to breathe-in or to
eat.

~~~
djsumdog
I was wondering about that too: the safety considering how secretive
manufacturers were.

Intuitively, I'd think the particles are just too large to be a considerable
risk. The photo of the man wearing a mask is because they're around it all day
every day (+ OSHA I'm sure), but I'm sure people have though the same thing
about asbestos or pink fibreglass insulation.

------
peter303
Previously they used pulverized mica. Mylar is cheaper and more manageable.

~~~
riskable
"Previously"? Mica powder is still used in a _lot_ of glitter products. For
example, glitter make-up is almost always made with mica powder. 3D printing
filament with "glitter flake" is mica powder.

------
justinph
Easy answer: Pollution.

------
octosphere
What an ample time to post such an article. Some context:
[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/18/man-
ca...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/18/man-catches-
thieves-using-fake-amazon-box-full-glitter-cameras/2347691002/)

~~~
rlglwx
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that video was faked.

~~~
usefulcat
Source?

~~~
scarejunba
It wasn't faked. The incidents where the pickups happened at his place were
real. However he paid people to place it on their doorstep and those people
had an accomplice pick it up.

------
Etheryte
I wouldn't be too surprised to find out the fast food industry uses some form
of glitter to make things look tasty. If you imagine that for example most
burgers are usually precooked frozen meat that's then reheated, getting it to
look like freshly made can be quite a challenge.

~~~
jboles
Getting the plastic-based glitter to not melt or burn on the grill might also
be quite a challenge.

~~~
Etheryte
There are edible types of plastic and having it melt once on the food product
during reheating might be beneficial. I'm not saying this as a conspiracy
theory or anything of the like, but rather pointing out that this could very
well be one application.

------
Fnoord
Glitter is terrible for the environment, and easy to avoid by not using it.

~~~
elliekelly
> and easy to avoid by not using it

Judging from this thread and all of the guesses re: the mystery industry that
uses glitter perhaps that's a bit of an overstatement. How can we easily avoid
something when we aren't aware of all the ways it's used?

------
tnuc
It is allegedly mixed with bleach and used by the coal industry to make the
smoke look white. People don't like seeing black smoke.

~~~
crazygringo
Are you trying to start an urban legend or something? There are a million ways
that doesn't make sense, but hey, at least you're being creative... :)

------
dane-pgp
This question reminds me of an interesting exchange in an episode of Daria:

Ashley-Amber - How do you think they make glitter?

Brittany - Hmm. I don't think we've learned that yet in science.

Salesman - Can I help you, ladies?

Ashley-Amber - Yes. How do they make glitter?

Salesman - Why, they capture a moonbeam and crumble it up into tiny little
specks of magic.

Ashley-Amber (to Brittany) - Then we can save a bunch of money by doing it
ourselves.

------
Flavius
It's something that should be illegal. It's a health hazard.

~~~
egwynn
You mean like almost every other popular art supply?

~~~
ineedasername
Eh, yeah, unfortunately... the arts have a long history of using some very
toxic substances. In their defense it wasn't always known at the time.

~~~
djsumdog
I wonder how many common art and cosmetic materials would be approved if they
came on the market today.

------
lucb1e
I'm curious what the answer to the title is but "aluminum metalized
polyethylene terephthalate" doesn't exactly help me. Aluminium, okay, but what
is the rest? The article goes on and on and on, rambling about how everyone
likes it just like we once hunted for honey, what company it originated at,
what kind of word it even is... thousands of words for a couple of interesting
bits of information. This either needs a summary or some more concise writing.

~~~
uryga
i felt like the article describes a whole bunch of the details – e.g. covering
the plastic with vaporized aluminum (i believe this is what "aluminum-
metalized polyethylene terephthalate" means); making plastic iridescent by
etching microscopic patterns into the plastic and exploiting the way light
refracts off of those; maybe others that i can't remember now.

but to me that wasn't as interesting as the part where the glitter industry
turned out to be weirdly secretive about the whole process.

