They’re taking the sparkle out of Christmas…

CHRISTMAS shoppers who are searching for glittery cards, wrapping paper and crackers may have a tougher job this year, as retailers reduce their stock due to environmental concerns.

Retailers including Paperchase, Next, Debenhams, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s all say they have made a conscious effort to reduce glitter in single use Christmas items this year.

It comes amid fears that microplastics, including glitter, are polluting the world’s oceans, being consumed by fish and ending up being ingested by humans.

The popularity of glitter has also been dented by raised public awareness that it also makes products it is attached to non-recyclable.

Paperchase said it was mindful of the environment after receiving feedback from consumers voicing concerns about glitter. It said it had reduced the proportion of Christmas wrap rolls featuring glitter to just three of its 18 designs. The rest can be recycled.

Debenhams said its buying teams had kept glitter use in mind when collating this year’s products. The store would be promoting glitterfree gift boxes in a range of sizes as an alternative to sparkly wrap, it said.

Next said it was in the process of investigating using a glitter manufactured from natural plant materials but in the meantime would reduce the amount of plastics in its Christmas products, including glitter.

The majority of festive cards, wrap and crackers on John Lewis’s website do not feature glitter, although some are decorated with small metallic flecks, creating a sparkly effect but which are more environmentally friendly.

David Bolton, retail products policy adviser at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers recognise how important it is to their customers to tackle plastic pollution, removing it where possible and ensuring all packaging is recyclable.

“Retailers have already moved to remove glitter from rinse-off cosmetic products long before they were required to by legislation as the plastic goes directly into water and the industry is reviewing how best to make other products that contain glitter as environmentallyfriendly as possible.”