Marks & Spencer has recently revealed its commitment to reducing the amount of plastic it uses by launching over 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables completely free of plastic packaging in a trial at its Tolworth store in the UK.
The British retailer outlined in a statement that in order to support the trial, M&S has introduced trained greengrocers, who will be on hand to offer customers valuable advice as they select from two aisles of fruit and vegetables free of plastic packaging.
“Our trial at Tolworth is an important milestone in our plastic reduction journey and bringing back the traditional greengrocer will play a key part in educating our customers,” Louise Nicholls, Head of Food Sustainability, said.
“Our plan is to create long-term impact in the future using tangible insights from the Tolworth store trial.”
Greengrocer Tips
In addition to helping customers pick and weigh their products, the greengrocers will provide tips on how best to preserve fresh produce and prevent food waste at home, as M&S has removed “best before” date labels from fresh fruit and veg as part of the store trial.
The range not only includes hard fruit and veg like potatoes and bananas, but also more perishable items such as soft fruits and berries, which will be retailed in compostable punnets.
Alongside the initiatives at Tolworth, M&S has committed to launching additional lines of loose produce and more sustainable alternatives to plastic in every UK store, which could save 580 tonnes of plastic waste over two years alone, the group said.
The plan will involve replacing plastic produce bags with paper ones and phasing out plastic barcode stickers in favour of eco-friendly alternatives.
Zero-Waste By 2025
The initiative supports M&S’s target of becoming a zero-waste business by 2025.
“We know our customers want to play their part in cutting out plastic, while as a business our goal is to become zero-waste by 2025,”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
