High street chain Boots to stop selling all plastic-based wet wipes by end of the year after reformulating its own ranges
Boots is to stop selling all wet wipes that contain plastic fibres by the end of the year.
The pharmacy chain, which sold more than 800 million wet wipes in the last year, said it would replace plastic-based wipes with plant-based biodegradable alternatives.
Themovefollowsbootsreformulating its own-brand wipe ranges to remove plastic.
Alargeproportionofthe11billion wet wipes used in the UK every year still contain some form of plastic, according to the Marine Conservation Society, and evidence suggests they arethecauseofmorethannine in ten blockages in UK sewers.
Boots is one of the biggest sellers of wet wipes in the UK, with morethan140linesacrossskincare, baby, tissue and health care categories.
Steve Ager, chief customer andcommercialofficeratboots UK, said: "Our customers are more aware than ever before of their impact on the environment, and they are actively looking to brands and retailers tohelpthemleadmoresustainable lives.
"We removed plastics from
our own brand and No7 wet wipe ranges in 2021, and now we are calling on other brands and retailers across the UK to follow suit in eliminating all plastic-based wet wipes. We all have a responsibility to protect our planet. By joining forces to inspire positive action, we can collectively make a difference."
Environmentministerrebecca Pow said: "This is a really encouraging commitment from Boots to prevent the damagingplasticsinwetwipesfrom entering our environment.
"Wehavealreadyconducteda call for evidence on wet wipes, including the potential for banning those containing plastic. In the meantime, our message is clear – you should bin and not flush wet wipes."
Marine Conservation Society
chief executive Sandy Luk said: "It's a fantastic step in the right direction for retailers, like Boots, to remove plastic from their own brand wet wipes and askthatallbrandstheystockdo the same.
"Our volunteers found nearly 6,000 wet wipes during the Great British Beach Clean in September 2021, which is an average of 12 and a half wet wipes for every 100 metres of beach surveyed.”
"The fact we're still finding so many wet wipes on beaches shows that we need to remove plastic from wet wipes and movetowardreusableoptions.”