Who Makes Glitter?

Most of the glitter that adorns America's name brand products is made in one of two places: The first is in New Jersey, but the second, however, is also in New Jersey. The first declines to answer any questions from the media. The second is Glitterex.

Glitterex

Glitterex was founded in 1963. Babu Shetty, 69, joined the company as president and C.E.O. in 1999, though he had been working to develop some of its glitter products since the 1970s, when he came to the U.S. from Mumbai to earn an advanced degree.

Mr. Shetty says that people have no idea of the scientific knowledge required to produce glitter. He says that Glitterex's glitter-making technology is some of the most advanced in the world and that people don't believe how complicated it is. He also said that he would not allow any non-employee to see glitter being made, hear glitter being made, or even be in the same wing of the building as the room in which glitter was being made under any circumstance. Even Glitterex's clients are not permitted to see their glitter being made, and he would not reveal the identities of Glitterex's clients (which include some of the largest multinational corporations in the world; eventually, one did consent to be named: thank you, Revlon, Inc.)

What Is Glitter Used For? Who Is Buying Bulk Glitter?

The minimum amount of glitter a company can buy from Glitterex at one time is 10 pounds. Glitterex is not selling the glitter that you find in craft stores, Glitterex sells the glitter that the companies who do sell glitter in craft stores use to sell to consumers. Glitterex is a manufacturer and "raw materials" distributer. That's right! Glitter is considered a raw material!

It's impossible to recreate the light-catching effect of glitter without using tiny particles of something, which means that if an object looks glittery upon close inspection (a credit card design; an N.F.L. helmet; a jet ski paint job), there are good odds that it contains glitter.

Researchers and zookeepers sometimes mix glitter with animal feed to track animals (polar bears; elephants; domestic cats) via sparkly feces.

Plywood manufacturers insert hidden layers of colored glitter in their products to prevent counterfeiting.

Also, because glitter is difficult to remove completely from an area into which it has been introduced, and because individual varieties can be distinguished under a microscope, it can serve as useful crime scene evidence; years ago the F.B.I. contacted Glitterex to catalog samples of its products.

So...What Is The Mystery?

Mr. Shetty said that, trade secrets aside, confidentiality is a top-down requirement from clients. Companies do not want others in their industry to know what glitters are in their products, to prevent competitors from making identical formulations.

When a Glitterex Representitive was asked is she could disclose which industry served as Glitterex's biggest market, her answer was instant: "No, I absolutely know that I can't."

Interviewer: "But you know what it is?"
Glitterex Representative: "Oh, God, yes," the representitive said, and laughed. "And you would never guess it. Let's just leave it at that. Because they don't want anyone to know that it's glitter."
Interviewer: "If I looked at it, I wouldn't know it was glitter?"
Glitterex Representative: "No, not really."
Interviewer: "Would I be able to see the glitter?"
Glitterex Representative: "Oh, you'd be able to see something. But it's — yeah, I can't."

So...Who are Glitterex's largest clients? And why do they want to remain anonymous?

As it turns out, to solve the glitter mystery we can't think of Glitter manufacturers as just producers of glitter. We have to think of them as large scale miniture die-cutting contractors. It takes a lot of infrastructure to be able to cut out very precise small shapes out of long strips of material. So, instead of creating their own die-cutting machines, companies will contact their miniture die-cutting needs out to glitter manufacturers.

Similarly to why glitter manufactures don't want you be able to see how glitter is produced, companies that contact glitter manufacturers also don't wnat you to know who their product is produced through. After a few years of digging it was eventually found out that the largest secret market for glitter manufactrers is the military. The United States millitary uses glitter manufacteres to die-cut thin sheets of steel to place in weapons.