Morrisons has removed plastic packaging from its Christmas gift wrap and accessory ranges in an effort to become more sustainable.
As a result, more than 3.1 tonnes of plastic shrink wrap will be removed from the retailer's wrapping paper alone. This is in addition to the removal of glitter and plastic from paper wrap, crackers and cards in previous years, which has reduced plastic in its range by over 150 tonnes over the past three years.
This year, Morrisons has taken away plastic film and plastic shrink wrap from its festive wrapping paper and gifting accessories such as gift tags and bags. Gift bags will comprise of recyclable paper, replacing their plastic ribbon handles with a paper twist or paper braid alternative.
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In addition, Morrisons is launching a fully recyclable sticky tape. This means there is no need to remove it before placing it in curbside collections or contaminating the paper recycling stream with bits of plastic.
Tesco and Co-Op both made the decision to remove plastic packaging from Christmas decorations and wrapping in previous years. Now other supermarkets are being urged to do the same.
Along with offering shoppers a chance to have a more sustainable festive season, the price of wrapping paper has been halved compared to its price last Christmas. Previously costing £2 in 2021, wrapping paper will cost just 99p this year and gift bags have also been reduced, giving customers more incentive to have an eco-friendlier Christmas.
Jodie Mackrill, buying manager for Christmas and events at Morrisons, said: "We are always looking to find ways to reduce and remove plastic packaging across all of the products we sell. It’s what our customers tell us they want too.
"During the Christmas period, 269,423 miles of wrapping paper are used every year, contributing to plastic ending up in landfill. Our new entirely plastic-free Christmas wrap and gift range means customers can have a more sustainable Christmas and we hope that cutting costs on gift bags and wrapping paper will help them in that."
The new range supports Morrisons target to reduce plastic packaging by 50% and to make all own-brand plastic packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
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