High St dresses made from 7 million PLASTIC water bottles
10 years ago we launched our campaign to ban plastic bags – and look how we changed the world! Here the Mail salutes the innovative ways big firms are saving the planet
TEN years ago next week,, the Mail launched a groundbreaking campaignn to banish plastic bags fromm supermarkets. Our crusade was a triumph, leading to the e introduction of a 5p charge which has led to o more than seven billion fewer bags being g used every year.
But we didn’t stop there. Last year we launched our Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign and started a global conversation about how we’re flooding the world’s seas with waste. Yesterday it was announced that plastic drinking straws will be banned.
This is also the last issue of the Mail to contain a plastic bag. From March 3, Weekend magazine will no longer have a polythene wrapper.
But what about the big businesses who sell us all the plastic in the first place? As charity Greenpeace says: ‘The tidal wave of plastic pollution will only start to recede when producers turn off the tap.’
Here, we reveal the companies inspired by our campaign that really are making an effort...
SUPERMARKET BANISHING PLASTIC PACKAGING
ICELAND has committed to becoming the first major retailer in the world to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own-brand products by 2023.
This pledge is more than just a savvy marketing exercise, however — it is a personal crusade for Iceland managing director Richard Walker. He says: ‘I’m a keen surfer so I’m painfully aware of the scourge of plastic detritus in the ocean. And as the parent of young children, I also want to do everything I can to protect their future.’
Richard convinced the executive board to take action, despite scepticism over the cost, whether such a move would resonate with customers . . . and if it was even possible. The supermarket appointed a team of packaging experts and investigations into ways to banish plastic began last year.
Plastic has long been considered the best option for frozen food because it creates an airtight seal which, unlike cardboard, prevents leaks as the food defrosts. It also protects food from ‘freezer burn’.
Plastic-free alternatives have to somehow meet these challenges — but the team are trying to crack it. They’re now planning to replace plastic meal trays with paper-based ones by the end of 2018, and switch plastic egg boxes to pulp ones.This will remove 100 million plastic items from circulation.
‘We are working on a plastic-free sealant which stops water penetrating the cardboard packaging, and a plantbased film in place of clingfilm,’ says Richard.
The team has reported that in other areas the switch will be harder to achieve (such as the packs for chilled meat, or milk) — but they won’t rest until they succeed. Richard promises that any increase in costs will not be passed on to the consumer.
‘The advance in technology will be faster if other retailers follow our lead. We are encouraged by positive actions already announced by our competitors,’ he adds. ‘Iceland is putting a stake in the ground.’
RECYCLING THAT’S FIT FOR SUPERMODELS
GORGEOUS silky frocks, tailored trousers and chic bags and shoes — there’s nothing even the most hard-to-please fashionista would turn her nose up at in High Street giant H&M’s new collection.
How extraordinary, then, that items in its new Conscious Exclusive range (which hits shops in April and is modelled by supermodel Christy Turlington) are made from plastic found on our beaches.
The collection, which starts at around £40, uses Econyl regenerated nylon and Bionic polyester yarn. Bionic Yarn has transformed seven million old plastic bottles gathered from the UK’s shoreline into fabric in three years alone. Around 88 bottles go into making each dress.
Econyl, meanwhile, is made from discarded plastic fishing nets collected from around the world by volunteer divers. This saves countless dolphins and turtles from getting tangled in them. These nets are combined with old carpets, industrial waste and fabric scraps before being spun into yarn.
Catarina Midby, H&M’s UK sustainability manager, says: ‘This recycled fabric really is as good as new.’ The brand will also recycle any of your old clothes for free and repurpose up to 97 per cent of it.
THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD ECO-WARRIOR
YOU’RE never too little to make a difference — as proven by a fiveyear-old from Cornwall, who wrote to her local Pizza Express last year after becoming concerned about the chain’s use of plastic straws.
‘We received a letter in 2017 from one of our customers, Ava, aged five, and it spurred us to make a big change,’ says managing director Zoe Bowley.
She wrote: ‘When I get my drink it always has a plastic straw in it. I am writing to please ask you to stop using plastic straws as they are very bad for animals. They can get stuck in their mouths and noses. Could you only use straws if people ask for them as I don’t want any animals to get sick?’
Ava’s mother Andrea James said: ‘To say I’m a proud parent is an understatement. I encouraged Ava to write the letter after she saw a picture of a turtle with a straw stuck in its nostril and asked how we could help. We’ve always eaten in Pizza Express, so we decided that was a good place to start.’
When they received her letter, the customer services team at Pizza Express sent Ava a handwritten reply to confirm the news of the straw ban, writing: ‘If you ever think you can’t make a difference or that you don’t have a voice, write that letter or make that call because even at age five you can change the world.’
‘Ava is over the moon that they have banned plastic straws, although I don’t think she understands the enormity of what she has achieved,’ says Andrea. ‘This is the best possible outcome. Ava has turned into a little eco-warrior, chasing stray plastic bags around the beach and making sure they get picked up.’
WASHING-UP BOTTLE TO BRAG ABOUT
AS ONE of the largest producers of ecological cleaning products in Europe, Ecover is already a green choice as it doesn’t use harmful chemicals in its products.
However, its bottles were made from plastic — until now. A dedicated team has been working on a 100 per cent recycled and recyclable washing-up liquid bottle.
Ryan McSorley, EU industrial design manager at Ecover, says it has been challenging: ‘So much recycled plastic is produced overseas that it was tricky to find a source close to the UK.
‘We knew our product (pictured right) had to be clear in order to be fully recyclable but most recycled plastic is yellow or grey.
‘We then worked to create a ribbed design to make it look like high-end glass. The next challenge was trialling different weights of plastic to balance using the least amount of material.
‘We are now looking at redesigning our laundry range and using biodegradable plastic packaging to ensure that any bottles which don’t make the recycling bin disintegrate before they reach the oceans.’
TEABAG REVOLUTION BREWS AT THE CO-OP
DID you know teabags contain plastic? That’s the problem that has become a personal crusade for environment manager Iain Ferguson at the Co- Op, who has worked at the supermarket for nearly 30 years. He was responsible for removing plastic linings from tissue boxes in 2005, he campaigned for paper cotton bud stems back in 2006 (ten years ahead of other retailers), and he led the way,
in 2012, in lightening the colour of Co-op’s milk bottle tops so they are easier to recycle.
Last year he recommended tomatoes be sold in cardboard rather than plastic punnets, and that polystyrene bases for Co-op pizzas are changed to cardboard.
Now he’s teamed up with tea company Typhoo to develop the world’s first mass-market plasticfree teabag.
Co- op food chief executive Jo Whitfield says: ‘Many tea drinkers are blissfully unaware their teabag is sealed in plastic (150 tonnes in total brewed in six billion cups of tea per year), which means an enormous amount of plastic waste.’
Ferguson — who is 60 — now says he refuses to retire until the plastic-free tea bags hit the shelves.
His biodegradable bags are under trial at the Typhoo factory in Liverpool, with a team experimenting with various sealants and different paper cases. It’s hoped they’ll be ready for your cuppa soon.
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS AT LUSH
HIGH Street retailer Lush invented solid shampoo (shaped like a bar of soap) more than 20 years ago — and now it’s going further. Five million bars were sold in 2016, which saved over 15 million plastic bottles (each bar is equivalent to three medium bottles of liquid shampoo).
They have expanded the ‘naked’ range to include solid body conditioners and shower gels. Co-founder and managing director Mark Constantine says: ‘We can only offer alternatives. Some customers love them and some hate them.
‘In our industry, packaging often represents more than half the cost of the finished product. By creating products without packaging, we can buy better ingredients and not fill the ocean with plastic.
‘It makes sense for the industry to discard packaging and give customers better value for money.’
PUB CHAIN SAYS NO TO PLASTIC STRAWS
LAST year pub chain JD Wetherspoon was the first major chain to ban plastic straws at its 900 pubs — a move which stops 70 million straws going to landfill every year. Paper straws are hidden from view and produced only on request.
According to a spokesman, the original idea was prompted by customers and staff. The pledge was made in September and all 900 pubs were straw-free by January 1. ‘Now you only get a paper straw if you ask, so uptake is a tiny percentage of what it used to be,’ he says. ‘Overall the move has been very well-received.’
COMPOST YOUR READY-MEAL TRAY
TOMATOES are going to be a key part of your ready meals at Waitrose — but not to eat. Black plastic food trays are frequently used for microwavable ready meals (because the plastic can be tougher and more resilient to temperature change) and to give a quality look to premium range products. But the lasers used at recycling plants struggle to properly identify black plastic, meaning it often ends up in landfill. However, Waitrose has been leading experiments with alternative paper-pulp trays and cardboard packaging. It has now managed to remove 65 per cent of black plastic packaging from fresh fruit and vegetables. From the end of this year it will stop using black plastic packaging for all meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, and all of its own-label goods by the end of 2019. In October, the retailer trialled a food by-product punnet for Waitrose Duchy Organic cherry tomatoes made from tomato leaf and recycled cardboard, as well as trying out pulp punnets for mushrooms. Both of these materials can be home-composted.
HOLIDAYS FREE FROM PLASTIC
ROYAL Caribbean International has joined forces with Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises to form a ‘plastics team’ charged with the logistics of eliminating single-use plastics on its fleets.
The head of Royal Caribbean International, Michael Bayley, says: ‘Healthy oceans are vital to the success of our company, and we understand our responsibility to protect the seas.
‘We want to eliminate single-use, disposable plastic, such as straws and drinks bottles, and reduce the amount of plastic such as chairs, bags, staff belts and shoes.’
Meanwhile, Ryanair is the first airline to announce plans to go plastic-free over the next five years. The company’s chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, explained that this would mean switching to wooden cutlery, using biodegradable coffee cups, and the removal of plastics from in-flight products.
He said customers will also be able to bring their own cups on board.
And Eurostar has pledged to reduce the company’s use of plastics by 50 per cent by 2020.
Plastic straws have already been banned on trains and in lounges and a ban on plastic bottles
will follow.
NATURALLY FAST FOOD
RESTAURANT chain Leon pioneered the concept of ‘Naturally Fast Food’ when it launched in 2004. It has always used paper packaging and offered free water in glasses, but it switched to compostable and biodegradable coffee cups in 2016.
Most cups are lined with plastic as a sealant to stop leaks but Leon cups have a biopolymer coating which degenerates much more quickly. This year, Leon will move to paper straws and biodegradable cutlery.
CEO and co-founder John Vincent says: ‘ Removing as much of the single-use plastics from our restaurants as quickly as we can is one of our initiatives to be kinder to the planet.
‘It’s not easy and it’s expensive (a 40 per cent increase in costs), but it is necessary.’
Economies of scale mean plastic cutlery is much cheaper than alternatives, which also use more expensive raw materials.
But by commercially supporting new packaging technology, the team at Leon hope to play a part in bringing the overall cost down over time.
AVOCADOS LABELLED WITH LASERS IN M&S
M&S says that by 2022, all of its product packaging in the UK will be ‘ recyclable’ and ‘ widely recycled’. It has reduced the plastic in 140 of its own-brand products, including crisps and popcorn packets, by around 20 per cent.
It also laser-prints barcodes onto avocados’ skins to avoid the need for labels.
A spokesperson says: ‘Packaging plays a significant role in protecting our products and keeping them fresh, but it’s important that we don’t over-package.
‘We know we have a lot more to do and we are working hard to cut out unnecessary packaging and help our customers to reuse and recycle more.’