Planet over plastic
We’ve made reducing plastic a top priority: by reducing it in products and packaging, making it easier to recycle and giving it new life in take-back initiatives
Bags for life
Stylish and reusable, our latest fashion and food bags for life are in collaboration with artist Yinka Ilori. Inspired by his memories of working at M&S, the bold designs pay tribute to the dreamer inside us all. Our fashion bag (made from 99% recycled materials) and our food bag for life (made from 100% recycled plastic – including the plastic from our own stores) are both designed to be reused time and time again
Online packaging
We’ve made it easier for you to recycle the packaging from your online shopping. Our green bags are made from 100% recycled plastic, which is recyclable via our Another life. initiative in your local store, while our cardboard boxes can be put in your kerbside recycling. Our Click & Collect orders are now packaging free at 250 stores – just remember to bring your own reusable bag
Hangers
Since 2007, our customers have helped us keep more than 1 billion hangers out of landfill by leaving them at our till points or bringing them back to M&S stores for reuse. And we have plans to do more. Our jeans hangers were created with sustainability in mind – they contain 70% less plastic than their predecessors, and are designed for reuse thanks to their clever circular design
Refill stations
A washing-up liquid bottle for life? We’re making it happen. Selected trial stores are piloting a circular system of different laundry and cleaning products, where customers can return their empty M&S Refilled bottles to be washed and refilled, ready to be sold again, continuing the cycle and reducing waste. In return, trial store customers will receive a £2 voucher, which can be redeemed against a second purchase in the M&S Refilled range.
As we expand this trial into more stores across the UK, it’s estimated we’ll remove 150,000 pieces of plastic, therefore supporting our Plan A target to remove 1 billion units of plastic packaging by 2027
Plastic recycling
You can recycle most plastics from any product in our M&S stores. From hard-to-recycle items such as biscuit packets and sweet wrappers (excluding beauty) to products not bought at M&S – just place them into our plastic recycling units in-store and we’ll take care of the rest
Carrier bags
We’re committed to reducing plastic, that’s why we’ve replaced our plastic carrier bags with paper ones. Our paper bags have all the benefits of plastic bags, but without the same environmental impact.
Our vibrant food bags are super strong and can carry up to 15kg – that’s the equivalent to more than six four-pint containers of 100% RSPCA-assured M&S milk. They’re also water resistant, are easy to recycle and have been independently tested to withstand over 100 reuses
Beauty empties
We’ve partnered with HANDLE, a circular company aiming to reduce the environmental impact of beauty packaging, to provide free in-store recycling for your beauty products. Simply bring in your beauty empties and pop them in one of the M&S x HANDLE branded bins at selected stores. With your old packaging, HANDLE creates staple accessories such as hairbrushes, combs, mirrors and more. See the full list of stores with HANDLE recycling bins and find out more.
