Strictly Come Dancing bans plastic glitter in bid to go eco-friendly

The ballroom show is making stronger efforts to protect the environment

Joe Sugg and Katie Piper at the launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2018 (PA)

Nothing says ballroom glamour quite like extravagant outfits embellished with glitz and sparkle galore.

However, the glitter being used to adorn the contestants and their outfits on this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing is set to be strictly environmentally friendly, in light of the ban on plastic microbeads being enforced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

A spokesperson has explained that all liquid glitter being used throughout the show is eco-friendly, and so won’t pose a threat to marine life when flushed down the drain.

“All our liquid glitter used in the theme weeks is sourced from Burt’s Bees which is all biodegradable, and this series they will also be supplying us with biodegradable makeup wipes,” they state.

On top of that, the spokesperson has said that the majority of makeup used on contestants is also biodegradable, although the show is currently investigating whether absolutely all of the ingredients in the makeup they use is eco-friendly.

Last year, it was announced that Defra would be enforcing a ban on microbeads, which includes “rinse-off” cosmetics and personal care products such as toothpaste.

Environment secretary Michael Gove stated that he was on a mission to “explore new methods of reducing the amount of plastic - in particular plastic bottles - entering our seas.”

While the microbead ban doesn’t include “leave-on” products such as makeup and sunscreen, many have been calling for plastic glitter to be banned outright as well.

According to a spokesperson for Defra, products containing glitter that fall into the category of “rinse-off” cosmetics and personal care products will be included in the ban.

However, products containing plastic glitters that can be classified as “leave-on” won’t be banned.

Strictly Come Dancing is on a mission to become more eco-friendly by eliminating single-use plastic from the show.

According to the spokesperson, the show should be at least 90 per cent free of single-use plastic by next year.

On top of that, the confetti that’s used on the show is 50 per cent biodegradable and last year the paper being used for scripts and running orders was replaced with iPads instead.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing begins on September 8 on BBC One.