Waitrose & Partners has pledged that by Christmas 2020, all its own label cards, wrap and crackers will either be glitter-free or will use what the retailer says is ‘an environmentally friendly alternative’.
News that the grocer is planning to lose ‘some of its shimmer’ was lapped up by the media, including The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Telegraph and Sky News giving it coverage.
Tor Harris, Waitrose’s head of CSR commented: “Reducing the impact of plastics on the environment is something our customers care passionately about. While it’s important to eliminate the use of glitter, we’ll find other ways to make sure our products sparkle at Christmas and throughout the year.”
This year three quarters of the retailer’s own label cards, wraps, crackers and tags, along with half of its flowers and plants will be glitter-free. This will increase by next Christmas when all flowers and plants will be glitter-free; and by 2020 all own label products in these ranges will be glitter-free or use an, as yet, unspecified environmentally friendly alternative.
Waitrose lays claim to being the first supermarket in 2016 to cut plastics in its beauty products by switching to biodegradable paper from plastic cotton buds. The microbeads in plastic cotton buds are recognised as a serious threat to marine ecosystems.
Waitrose has also brought forward its target to make all its own brand packaging widely recycled, reusable or home compostable by two years, from 2025 to 2023. The retailer is planning to replace approximately 11,000 tonnes of non-recycled plastic within those two years with more sustainable alternatives.
