AVENIR

Blue Planet II triggered a global wake-up call. The anti-plastic crusade has widespread repercussions for industries, and now businesses must scramble to meet the demands of more eco-conscious shoppers.

 

Supermarkets are the most vulnerable to this press for change; whilst packaged produce can easily be replaced with loose variants, other items must, by nature, have some form of packaging. 

 

It’s an urgent issue. If major retailers like Tesco and Morrisons don’t adapt – and fast – they risk losing custom to competitors with more ecological credentials, like Whole Foods, or even resurging local markets.

 

Waitrose & Partners took up the challenge with their Unpacked trial, starting in an Oxford store and since expanding to three others. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“It’s been very successful so far,” says Alicia Grey, a manager at one of its stores. “It’s definitely a talking point for customers, because of its eco-friendly credentials.”

 

The four stores feature refillable zones for dried goods like pasta and coffee, pick ’n’ mix frozen fruit, refillable cleaning detergents, and even beer and wine on tap.

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Although the chain’s trial, along with those of Asda and Marks & Spencer, has received praise, environmental activist Caitlin Morgan says further action is needed.

 

“Seeing more loose produce is great,” she says, “but we have to move quicker. Supermarkets are currently progressing at a glacial pace - you still see carrots and even avocados wrapped in plastic!

 

“Obviously you have to remember they’re running businesses,” she adds, “but it’s increasingly vital they remove plastic packaging, because of the harm it does to the environment.”

 

So while it’s clear the grocery industry is waking up to the problem of plastic overuse, the argument for more radical change is biting at its heels.