Marks & Spencer is our ethical grocer of the week!!! Marks and Spencer Group plc is a major British multinational retailer. They specialize in selling clothing, home products and food products.
Marks & Spencer has an impressive track record with regards to sustainability. They have even pioneered a few sustainable practices. They were the world’s first major retailer to become carbon neutral. Recently, they’ve committed to becoming a zero waste business by 2025.
M&S was also one of the first retailers to charge for plastic bags in their Food stores, seven years ahead of regulation. The result was astounding. To date their customers use 80% fewer bags than in 2008, which is a savings of 4 billion bags!
M&S was the first retailer to extend a 25p discount to customers for bringing their own reusable containers. Aside from encouraging customers to bring their own reusable cups, M&S Cafés serve 99% of hot drinks in reusable china.
Plastic Reduction
Marks & Spencer has also committed to reduce plastic use. Thus far M&S has successfully removed 1,000 tonnes of plastic packaging in 2019 and are working towards removing another 1,000 tonnes by the end of 2020. They’ve already begun by cutting their carrier bag usage.
Additionally, Marks & Spencer Cafés have swapped plastic straws for paper ones. They’ve replaced plastic cutlery with FSC certified wooden alternatives and removed plastic produce bags from fruits and vegetables. M&S also switched from using plastic to now using recyclable aluminium to make their coffee pods.
Still, taking efforts a step further, M&S has eliminated 2,700 tonnes of the non-recycle friendly, black plastic packaging. In turn, they have set a goal to replace black plastic with recyclable plastic packaging by 2022. However, to avoid totally wasting the black plastic M&S has initiated a customer take-back scheme for hard to recycle plastic. They are then turning collected plastic into new playground equipment.
Recently M&S has launched a reusable, eco-shopping bag made from 75% Social Plastic©. The plastic is collected and recycled by Plastic Bank and in turn helps prevent waste and reduce poverty among people living in Haiti and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, M&S has been just as committed to humanity as it is to the environment. In fact, in 2006 M&S became the first retailer to convert all of their tea to Fairtrade. M&S also has several other Fairtrade products, some of which include roses, coffee, chocolate and wine. This not only accommodates more sustainable farming by investing in local communities, it also ensures that growers get paid a fair price for their products.
Overall, though there is still much to do to improve its overall ethical and environmental performance, Marks & Spencer has made great strides. As such they are well positioned to continue growing in this regard. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing what innovative eco initiatives are on the horizon for Marks & Spencer.
What do you think about our ethical grocer of the week, Marks & Spencer? Do you live in the vicinity of one? If so, do you shop there? What do you like most about it?
