Morrisons, with stores in King's Lynn and Fakenham, announces ban on glitter

Morrisons, which has stores in Lynn and Fakenham, has removed glitter from its products to reduce plastic usage.

Its glitter ban is just one of a raft of measures the supermarket giant is undertaking to use alternative sustainable options for items such as packaging, gifts and wrapping accessories.

The supermarket giant has removed glitter entirely from its own-brand ranges of greetings cards, gift wrap, seasonal items and horticulture in stores.

All Morrisons cards, crackers, wrapping paper, present bags, flowers, plants and wreaths are now 100 per cent glitter-free. Glitter is made from tiny particles of plastic and is an ecological hazard if it becomes dispersed on land, rivers and oceans, where it takes hundreds of years to degrade.

The move extends to non-seasonal as well as seasonal lines meaning Morrisons shoppers can shop more sustainably all year round. Soluble inks, foil and paper reliefs will instead be used to decorate Morrisons FSC certified paper cards, wrap and bags to give them a festive feel.

Morrisons has also removed all plastic toys from its Christmas crackers, which will be completely plastic-free this year.

All contents, such as games and gifts, will now be made out of paper, metal or wood and are designed to be kept and reused.

Morrisons has also reduced the amount of plastic packaging on Christmas cards and decorations. Most Morrisons cards will come boxed in recyclable cardboard and all of its packaging on cards and decorations can be easily recycled by local authorities.

The move to ban glitter and reduce plastic in Christmas ranges means that Morrisons will be removing more than 50 tonnes of plastic from its shelves during the festive period, and more across non-seasonal lines all year round.

Christine Bryce, Morrisons home director. said: “Every time a cracker is pulled, or a card is opened, plastics have been used, but just the once. So, we’ve taken glitter and plastic out of our festive range this year so that our customers can enjoy their festivities without worrying about the environmental impact. This means that we’re now 100 per cent glitter free across all our own brand ranges which is an important step in the fight against plastic pollution."