Morrisons removes all plastic from Christmas gift wrap and accessories

Morrisons has removed all plastic packaging from its Christmas gift wrap and accessory ranges, a move it said would take out more than 3.1 tonnes of plastic shrink wrap from its wrapping paper alone.

The supermarket has already removed glitter and plastic from paper wrap, crackers and cards in previous years.

Morrisons said it was removing plastic film and plastic shrink wrap from its festive wrapping paper and gifting accessories, such as gift tags and bags.

All its gift bags will be made of recyclable paper, replacing their plastic ribbon handles with a paper twist or paper braid alternative.

The retailer is also launching a fully recyclable sticky tape, meaning there is no need to remove it before placing it in curbside collections or contaminating the paper recycling stream with bits of plastic.

As well as being more eco friendly, Morrisons has made wrapping paper cheaper – at 99p this year. Gift bags have been reduced by more than half, giving customers more incentive to have an eco-friendlier Christmas, it said.

“We are always looking to find ways to reduce and remove plastic packaging across all of the products we sell,” said Jodie Mackrill, Morrisons buying manager for Christmas and events. “It’s what our customers tell us they want, too.

“During the Christmas period, 269,423 miles of wrapping paper are used every year, contributing to plastic ending up in landfill. Our new entirely plastic-free Christmas wrap and gift range means customers can have a more sustainable Christmas, and we hope that cutting costs on gift bags and wrapping paper will help them in that.”