Back in March I mentioned that Marks and Spencer had joined the race to become (and be seen as) an eco-friendly, fair trade trader. The full page newspaper adds proclaimed:
Plan A because there is no Plan B
And today there has been a tangible consequence of their BHAG, with a pilot running in Northern Ireland.
From 1 July, shoppers in NI M&S stores will pay 5p for plastic bags they pick up at the till. Shock, horror! Waving hands in disbelief! But not so scandalous if you’ve been along to shop in LIDL or been shopping in Euros in other parts of the island.
And to help, M&S shoppers during June will be able to “receive a set of three brand new ‘Bag for Life’ carrier bags designed by illustrator David Downton”, similar to Sainsbury’s giveaway of stronger bags at tills earlier this month.
And the profit from the sale of the bags will be donated to Groundwork Northern Ireland, a local charity working on environmental regeneration projects in disadvantaged areas.
1 comment:
Glad to see M&S moving in the right direction.
You would think it would be one of the easiest things for all the supermarkets to do, but all we've had from them so far is token gestures towards environmentalism. How hard is it to remember your own bags ? - yet every time I look down the row of tills at Tesco I am the only one using my own bags.
People tend to think they are doing their bit by recycling but reducing what we consume is the most important step in reduce, reuse and recycle. That's why it comes first.
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