Marks & Spencer has gone naked on greeting cards, in a trial involving 119 stores, as part of the retailer’s commitment to the Plastic Pact.
As M&S’ longtime partner on greeting cards, Hallmark has been working in conjunction with the retailer on the practicalities of the major pilot scheme which has involved all its greeting cards being put on sale without cellowrapping.
M&S has made great play of how it is reducing the amount of plastic it uses, as its website proclaims: ‘From naked cashmere jumpers to wooden forks and less air in our crisp packets, we’re finding new ways to take the plastic out of our business’.
Elaborating on the rationale behind plastics and its mission to reduce its use, M&S’ official statement details ‘we use plastic packaging because it does a great job protecting our products, but it can come with a cost to the environment if it is not recycled. That’s why we’re doing everything we can to reduce the amount of plastic we use. We’re rethinking our packaging – designing plastic out, replacing it with planet friendly alternatives and making sure that any we do use can be easily recycled.’
M&S’ stated policy is to only use plastic packaging as a last resort and has pledged to remove over 1,000 tonnes of plastic packaging from its business over the next 12 months as well as test ways in which it can go even further in the future.
Its decision to test unwrapped greeting cards is part of M&S’ Plastic Pact mission.
As Hallmark marketing manager Amy Banks told PG Buzz: “We have been working closely in conjunction with M&S on this trial and how collectively we can make a notable difference. We are now looking at how we can roll this out further.”
Top: Marks & Spencer has gone ‘naked’ on cards in 119 stores.
