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Marks & Spencer has promised to ditch non-biodegradable glitter on festive essentials like cards, gift wrap, flowers and food packaging this Christmas.
The supermarket announced the move to help keep glitter out of our oceans. The sparkly substance contains micro-plastics which cannot be widely recycled by local councils.
Christmas cards, wrapping paper, tags, calendars, gift bags and crackers will now be glitter-free, while glitter on plants, flowers and single-use food packaging has also been banned by the chain.
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Festive products that featured glitter will now have recyclable foil designs or innovative paper patterns to help keep them out of landfill. Clear instructions for recycling will be printed on the back of packaging, and cards will be sold in cardboard boxes rather than plastic sleeves.
Paul Willgoss, Director of Food Technology at M&S, said: “We know reducing single-use plastics is as important to our customers as it is to our business, so removing glitter from our cards and wrap range will make it easier for them to celebrate Christmas in a more sustainable way. This is a step in the right direction as we continue working on our plans to completely remove glitter from the range next year.”
Removing glitter from Christmas products is just one part of the M&S’ plan to be more sustainable. It has also promised to make its entire range of cards and wrapping paper completely glitter-free by 2020.
Supermarkets are some of Britain’s biggest polluters. A Which? study back in June found a whopping 48 percent of supermarket packaging cannot be recycled, despite having ‘recyclable’ written on the label. Find out how your local supermarket chain fairs here.
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