Following a successful trial last year, M&S will roll out its refillable homecare scheme to an additional 19 stores, including its Liverpool One flagship, bringing the total number to 25.
M&S ‘Refilled’ allows customers to choose from 10 pre-filled, own-brand cleaning and laundry products, including sprays, detergents, fabric conditioners and washing up liquids. The initial purchase includes a £2 cost for the returnable bottle, which can be returned to store after use. Upon return, customers receive a £2 voucher which can be redeemed against a second purchase in the M&S Refilled range.
To date over 10,000 M&S customers have engaged with the scheme – with the most popular product being the Citrus Washing Up Liquid. The expansion into more stores across the UK is expected to remove an estimated 150,000 pieces of plastic, supporting M&S’ Plan A target to remove one billion units of plastic packaging by 2027, on their roadmap to net zero by 2040.
Last month M&S met their target to remove 75 million units in 2023/24, four months earlier than planned. At the end of last year, M&S became the first national retailer to launch coffee cups which are 100% recyclable in the paper waste stream and also switched from plastic to paper bags in Food and Clothing & Home.
Lucinda Langton, head of sustainability at M&S Food, commented: “At M&S, we want to support our customers live more sustainably. We know they care deeply about us reducing plastic packaging and are continuing to look for ways they can make small changes in their everyday lives.
“Our Refilled scheme has proven hugely popular – showing there is high demand for refillable and great value options – so we’re delighted to be able to introduce this into even more of our stores across the UK this month.”
M&S has partnered with Reposit for the scheme. In collaboration with them, Ecover and City to Sea, M&S are part of a project to demonstrate returnable packaging systems at scale. The project is supported by UK Research & Innovation’s (UKRI) Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Fund.
Read more: Reduce, reuse and recycle – how packaging is going green in the newly published DeliveryX Packaging 2023 report.
Access the full report for unparalleled insight into how packaging is becoming the new store front.
