Nothing says Christmas like glitter and shine but sadly the festive look is not the best for the environment.
In an effort to be more eco-conscious, Morrisons, Waitrose, and John Lewis are now going glitter-free for the holidays.
The retailers will be ditching glitter in their Christmas packaging as the tiny bits of plastic can harm wildlife and get into the food chain.
Glitter contributes to more than 12.2 million tonnes of plastic that enters the ocean each year, usually as a result of people washing glitter off.
The material is also a microplastic and there are growing concerns about the tiny pieces entering the marine food chain.
Boots, Sainsbury’s, and Asda have also joined the retail industry’s move to becoming more sustainable.
Boot says it will be cutting 2,000 tonnes of plastic from its packaging while Asda has its first sustainable Christmas range, and Teso has said it will be using edible glitter.
Morrisons’ glitter-free range includes its own brand cards, crackers, wrapping paper, present bags, flowers, plants, and wreaths.
The supermarket also said it will also include only paper, metal, or wooden toys in its Christmas crackers, which will be completely plastic-free.
The brand is hoping to remove 50 tonnes of plastic from its shelves during the Christmas period.
Christine Bryce, Morrisons home director, said: ‘Every time a cracker is pulled, or a card is opened, plastics have been used but just the once.
‘So, 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.’
The John Lewis Partnership, which includes Waitrose, will also be ditching the microplastic in their single-use products in the festive period.
‘All own-brand cards, crackers, wrapping paper, gift bags are now 100% glitter-free,’ it said in a statement.
Waitrose has been phasing out the use of glitter in the past few years and aims to have its own brand packaging to be recyclable, reusable, and home compostable by 2023.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/15/morrisons-waitrose-and-john-lewis-to-ditch-glitter-in-christmas-packaging-for-environmental-reasons-13425478/
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