Why The World's Largest Glitter Consumer Remains A Mystery

It's ironic that the makers of a ubiquitous, gleaming, attention-grabbing substance are so secretive. When asked if she could say who buys most Glitterex products, managerLauren Dyer told The New York Times, "No, I absolutely know that I can't," continuing, "And you would never guess it. Let's just leave it at that." As for the

It's ironic that the makers of a ubiquitous, gleaming, attention-grabbing substance are so secretive. When asked if she could say who buys most Glitterex products, manager Lauren Dyer told The New York Times, "No, I absolutely know that I can't," continuing, "And you would never guess it. Let's just leave it at that." As for the reason behind such secrecy, Dyer said, "Because they don't want anyone to know that it's glitter." The "it's" in her statement presumably refers to the products used by Glitterex clients. And to be clear, we're not talking one, single company that scoops up most of the world's glitter, but an entire industry that wants its purchases to remain unknown.

Naturally, because secrecy breeds curiosity, folks have taken to speculating, deducing, and debating which industry buys the most glitter. Sparkling substances like toothpaste often come up in conversation, as Cracked describes. Slate suggests that glitter might be used in the creation of paper money to make it difficult to counterfeit. Paint-makers are obvious suspects, too, as are the cosmetics industry and makers of food-grade edible glitter that goes on confectionaries. 

But as First and First Consulting and Collective World both claim, it's the military who buys the most glitter. How else make explosives oh so fantabulous when they go boom? If true, this would explain why Lauren Dyer said that no one would guess Glitterex's top market. Fewer things seem more opposed than eyeshadow sparkles and flesh-rending fire and shrapnel.

[Featured image by Gabriela P. via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 4.0]

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