No glitter says Morrison’s, Waitrose and John Lewis, plastic waste

[Coco21]

Morrisons, Waitrose and John Lewis have said they won't be using glitter in own-brand Christmas products this year.

The tiny pieces of plastic can wash into the environment, harm wildlife, and get into the food chain.

The move is part of a wider push by retailers to try to reduce festive plastics pollution.
Boots said it would be cutting out single-use plastic packaging from Christmas gifts, taking 2,000 tonnes of plastic from its ranges.

Asda announced in September that it would launch its first sustainable Christmas range, and Tesco uses only edible glitter.

Sainsbury's said that this year "customers will find no glitter on our Christmas cards, wrapping paper or gift bags." It has also reduced glitter used on crackers, decorations, and flowers.

Plastic pollution to weigh 1.3 billion tonnes by 2040

What is the problem with plastic?
Glitter litter 'could be damaging rivers'
Between four and 12 million tonnes of plastic waste makes its way into oceans every year, mainly through rivers, according to estimates.

That plastic then breaks down into smaller, toxic pieces, which can be ingested by creatures, harming and potentially killing them, if it fills their stomachs.

[May26]

I never thought about glitter being made of plastic!

[Katie]

Hooray I hate glitter but if it’s having a positive effect on the environment that’s good news

[Lloyd]

Good, It’s something I have never understood, I personally think all plastic tat and cards should be banned, Christmas needs to be a sustainable concept and crackers that contain plastic bits that people will never use seems utterly pointless!

[Goatie]

Good, It’s something I have never understood, I personally think all plastic tat and cards should be banned, Christmas needs to be a sustainable concept and crackers that contain plastic bits that people will never use seems utterly pointless!

I think you have a point but let’s face it most Christmas decorations are made from plastic so are we going to stop celebrating all things Christmas?

[Geri]

I think you have a point but let’s face it most Christmas decorations are made from plastic so are we going to stop celebrating all things Christmas?

But aren’t Christmas decorations kept year after year, whereas cracker fillings are thrown out.

[Geri]

Sad, because glitter always makes me smile (inwardly) but it really serves no purpose and does have a devastating impact on wildlife. I watched a film on Netflix the other day called plastic ocean, it was so awful, seeing the birds tummy’s full with plastic.


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[Jasmine]

That image is horrific, so many birds and wildlife are dying because of plastic waste. I don’t see an end as our population grows unless we really make a change to paper but........ if we use more paper we need to chop down more trees which then destroys the wildlife in that area. So surely this is the circle of life and you are never really making any difference?

[Gabby]

That image is horrific, so many birds and wildlife are dying because of plastic waste. I don’t see an end as our population grows unless we really make a change to paper but........ if we use more paper we need to chop down more trees which then destroys the wildlife in that area. So surely this is the circle of life and you are never really making any difference?

If the trees are chopped down sustainably it shouldn’t impact on the wildlife too much. Although, I was watching a documentary about the planet and climate and it said that mono planting was a major problem too, because it doesn’t provide enough diversity in trees to attract diverse animal species.