M&S stops showing lingerie on hangers to reduce waste

MARKS & SPENCER is to stop displaying knickers and bras on hangers to cut down on plastic waste.

The fashion and food giant said it is exploring methods to slash the number that end up in landfill annually.

Other plans include displaying items on tables in-store to lower the number of hangers needed.

An M&S spokesman said: “In store, we have introduced a new display format whereby some lingerie is displayed on tables – removing the need for hangers. We plan to expand this format further.

“As we work towards our goal of becoming a zero-waste business by 2025, we are actively looking at ways to remove hangers before sending online orders to our customers and have a number of trials ongoing.

“Our jeans hangers contain 70 per cent less plastic than the previous version and are designed for reuse using clever circular design.”

The change comes after M&S received complaints from customers placing orders online for lingerie, nightwear and children’s clothes.

They argued that hangers were being included in the packages unnecessarily, when they could have easily been folded instead.

One shopper wrote on social media: “I recently received four pairs of knickers from M&S online… all on hangers… really no need to send out knickers on hangers! Just remove them in the warehouse before dispatch and reuse them.”

Another customer said she was inundated with tiny hangers when she ordered baby clothes.

M&S has said it is committed to providing sustainable packaging, and collects and reuses hangers throughout its 180 stores.

Hangers can be returned to its shops where they will be reused or recycled.

M&S also announced it would stop selling disposable barbecues. “We’d already stopped selling disposable barbecues near national parks and in London, but given the unusually hot and dry conditions, we’ve taken the precautionary step of removing them from sale across the UK,” a spokesman said.