Fleur Anderson Welcomes Wet Wipe Pledge from Boots
Hails it as a step forward to ban plastic in their production
Fleur Anderson outside the local branch of Boots
Putney’s MP has welcomed the announcement by Boots that it will become the latest retailer to stop selling wet wipes containing plastic.
Fleur Anderson has been campaigning on this issue for some time. As well as having a global impact, non-biodegradable wet wipes cause a specific problem on the local foreshore and can combine with other materials to create ‘fatbergs’.
The move comes after Tesco made a similar pledge earlier this year.
Boots is one of the biggest sellers of wet wipes in the UK with over 140 different lines stocked across skincare, beauty, baby, tissue and health care categories. It is one of the leading sellers of beauty face wipes, With over 800 million wet wipes sold in the last year in its stores and online, representing up to 15% of all face wipes sold across the UK.
Ms Anderson, said, “It’s really wonderful news that Boots has announced they will be phasing out all plastic in their wet wipes by the end of this year.
“This has come hot on the heels of Tesco’s pledge to stop selling plastic containing wet wipes earlier this year. Altogether, Boots and Tesco sell around 5.6 billion individual wipes a year, so this will make a huge difference to the health of our marine environments and water systems.”
Steve Ager, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Boots UK, said, “Our customers are more aware than ever before of their impact on the environment, and they are actively looking to brands and retailers to help them lead more sustainable lives.
“We removed plastics from our own brand and No7 wet wipe ranges in 2021, and now we are calling on other brands and retailers across the UK to follow suit in eliminating all plastic-based wet wipes. We all have a responsibility to protect our planet. By joining forces to inspire more positive action, we can collectively make a big difference.”
Sandy Luk, Chief Executive at the Marine Conservation Society, said, “It’s a fantastic step in the right direction for retailers, like Boots, to remove plastic from their own brand wet wipes and ask that all brands they stock do the same.
“Our volunteers found nearly 6,000 wet wipes during the Great British Beach Clean in September 2021, which is an average of 12 and a half wet wipes for every 100 metres of beach surveyed. The fact we’re still finding so many wet wipes on beaches shows that we need to remove plastic from wet wipes and move toward reusable options wherever possible, and it’s great that Boots are making commitments to this.”
It's really fantastic news that @BootsUK has announced they will stop selling plastic wet wipes by the end of the year ??
— Fleur Anderson MP (@PutneyFleur) April 19, 2022
It follows a similar announcement from @Tesco earlier this year ??
I hope all other retailers will follow suit soon ??#BanPlasticInWetWipes pic.twitter.com/OcU3x5JOeM
The MP pledge to continuing campaigning for a complete ban on plastics in wet wipes and also called on Wandsworth Council to introduce food waste collection across the borough to boost its recycling rate.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
April 29, 2022