M&S is banning glitter from its Christmas cards to cut down on plastic waste
MARKS & Spencer will sparkle a bit less this Christmas.
The store chain has banned glitter from its entire seasonal celebration range.
That will mean none of the sparkly stuff on crackers, calendars, cards and wrapping paper.
It’s part of a bid to save the planet, as traditional glitter is made up of micro-plastics that end up polluting oceans.
Paul Willgoss, the store's food technology chief, said: “Removing glitter from our cards and wrap range will make it easier for customers to celebrate Christmas in a more sustainable way”.
M&S said designs which previously featured glitter and have been replaced with innovative paper patterns or minimal foils “to maintain the festive sparkle”.
The move follows a similar one from German supermarket Aldi.
It has scrapped non-biodegradable glitter from its Halloween and Christmas ranges this year and has promised to remove it from all products by 2021.
Meanwhile Waitrose has pledged to ban glitter from all its own brand products by 2020.
Other retailers, including Paperchase, Next, Debenhams, John Lewis, M&S and Sainsbury's have all previously pledged to reduce glitter in Christmas items although Waitrose was the first supermarket to announce a ban last year.
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Campaigners have called for all stores to ditch the glitter and replace it with eco-friendly biodegradable alternatives.
A spokesperson for M&S said: “Our aim was to improve the recyclability of our cards and wrap range, however biodegradable glitter isn’t an effective solution for these types of products.”
Last year, Theresa May urged supermarkets to introduce plastic-free aisles to help reduce pollution.
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