There's nothing wrong with a gender reveal party — as long as you clean up after yourself.
On TikTok, Bryn (@brynhudson) shared the aftermath of a gender reveal on the beach.
@brynhudson pls dont ruin our beaches 😢 #litter #beach #genderreveal #genderrevealfail ♬ Scott Street (Slowed Down) - Phoebe Bridgers
"Please don't do your gender reveal at the beach," they wrote.
The sand is littered with pink confetti — just feet from the ocean waves. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence. This gender reveal left heaps of plastic confetti all over a park, and this wedding party risked hefty fines by shooting confetti cannons into the river below.
Confetti — even the paper or tissue kind — should not be left on beaches. Most confetti is made from plastic that can take a thousand years to degrade.
When most confetti breaks down, the tiny pieces of shiny plastic become harmful micro- and nano-plastics polluting our waterways. And it's not just our oceans; our shores are covered in trash.
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A Statista report noted that in 2022, "3.4 million waste items were collected" along U.S coastlines in a single cleanup campaign.
When it comes to adding some extra flair to your celebration, there are many options that are both beautiful and eco-friendly. Consider dried flower petals, like roses or baby's breath, hole-punched leaves, or seed confetti.
Seed confetti is made from paper pulp, embedded with wildflower seeds, and dyed using natural, non-toxic pigments. It's safe and sustainable, and wherever you toss it, you'll be planting the seeds for some stunning flowers to bloom.
One commenter asked about the harm — if paper confetti is biodegradable, how bad can it really be?
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"The beach isn't a compost bin," one user replied. "People shouldn't leave anything."
Tissue-based confetti eventually breaks down, but it can take weeks to do so, depending on the conditions. In the meantime, wildlife can mistake the colorful confetti for food and ingest toxic dyes and other chemicals.
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