Morrisons and Waitrose have stripped glitter from Christmas cards and plast packaging in a bid to deliver a more eco-friendly festive season this year.
Boots UK has also joined the retailers by eliminating 2,020 tonnes of plastic from its Christmas gift ranges by ditching single-use plastic packaging.
This means that all gift packaging from Boots is now plastic-free and is intended to be recycled or reused.
Crackers, wrapping paper, present bags, flowers, plants and wreaths are now 100 per cent glitter-free from Morrisons supermarket in its “fight against plastic pollution”.
Morrisons home director Christine Bryce said: “Every time a cracker is pulled, or a card is opened, plastics have been used … but just the once.
Customer Assistant Jess unveils Morrison's new Christmas range (PA)“We’ve taken glitter and plastic out of our festive range this year, so that our customers can enjoy their festivities without worrying about the environmental impact.”
Morrisons estimates it will be removing more than 50 tonnes of plastic from its shelves during the festive period, due to the glitter ban and its drive to reduce plastic in its Christmas ranges.
Items such as games and gifts will now be made out of paper, metal or wood and are designed to be kept and reused.
Cracker shells will be made from Forest Stewardship Council accredited cardboard and decorated with a metallic based ink.
Morrisons hopes the move will reduce the plastic sold in store by more than 50 tonnes a year (PA)The amount of plastic packaging on cards and decorations has also been stripped back. Felt, hessian and wooden decorations are being stocked.
Boots UK has also joined up with BBC Earth on a range of bathroom gifts which it says are kinder to the planet and which will help save the equivalent of more than 990,000 plastic bottles.
It says the aim is to help customers to “gift more mindfully” this Christmas at a time when searches for its eco-friendly products have boomed online.
Asda announced in September the launch of its first sustainable Christmas range, and Tesco has said it uses only edible glitter.
Estimates of plastic in Atlantic ‘massively underestimated’In a statement released by Waitrose and John Lewis, from the John Lewis & Partners group, the retailers revealed they will also be removing glitter from all of its single-use products this December.
"All own-brand cards, crackers, wrapping paper, gift bags are now 100 per cent glitter-free," said the statement.
It comes after Waitrose announced in September that it would be selling rolls of Christmas gift wrap unpackaged to eliminate the use of single use plastic that can’t be recycled.
Nikki Grainge, Packaging Development Manager, Waitrose & Partners, said: “We know customers will be looking to make Christmas just as special this year, but removing unnecessary plastic means they can enjoy gifting without worrying about the environment and rubbish that can’t be recycled after the festivities. "We’re constantly working to reduce single-use plastic and we’re on a roll with the removal of shrink wrap on gift wrap and many other products including tinned food and tissues. "We’re constantly moving closer to phasing out non-recyclable plastic by the end of 2021." Evening Standard
Additional reporting by PA Media.
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