Marks and Spencer to cut down on plastic hangers and single-use plastic
Marks & Spencer will stop displaying knickers and bars on hangers in a bid to cut down on plastic waste, after announcing a nationwide ban on the sale of disposable barbecues.
The decision came after the the high street retailer received complaints from customers ordering lingerie, nightwear, and children’s clothes online.
They claimed that online purchases were delivered with unnecessary plastic hangers, rather than being folded with reduced packaging.
Some shoppers have taken to social media to express their disappointment over the retailer's use of hangers.
Really @marksandspencer sending a plastic coat hanger for a simple t-shirt seems ridiculous let alone 3 for my order I’ve just received! I wonder how many unnecessary hangers you send out in a day, when you could easily reuse them! 😡#GlobalWarming #plasticfree #marksandsparks pic.twitter.com/GYKvTZDDWD
— Gayle Neale (@GayleNeale) May 20, 2022
M&S said that it is committed to providing sustainable packaging and already re-uses hangers in its 180 shops.
A spokesperson added: "In store, we have introduced a new display format whereby some lingerie is displayed on tables - removing the need for hangers. We plan to expand this format further.
"As we work towards our goal of becoming a zero-waste business by 2025, we are actively looking at ways to remove hangers before sending online orders to our customers and have a number of trials ongoing."
The retailer also announced a store-wide ban on disposable BBQs due to the rise in grass fires amid soaring temperatures.
Announcing the news on Twitter, M&S tweeted: "We'd already stopped selling disposable barbecues near national parks and in London but given the unusually hot and dry conditions, we've taken the precautionary step of removing them from sale across the UK."