MARKS and Spencer is to trial refillable own-brand cleaning and laundry products as part of its commitment to reduce and remove plastic packaging.
Dubbed M&S Refillable, it will allow customers to choose from eight pre-filled, own-brand home care products – including cleaning sprays, laundry detergents, fabric conditioners, and washing up liquids.
It is being launched in partnership with reusable packaging firm, Re. Customers will initially need to pay a £2 deposit for the reusable bottle. A £2 voucher will be given once the bottle is returned to store, which can be redeemed in the refillable range.
Once returned, the bottles cleaned and refilled before returning to store to be sold again. The bottles come in 500ml, 750ml and one litre and are made from durable materials to reduce damage and waste.
The trial has already launched in Stevenage, with M&S revealing that customers are ‘responding well’ – with the most popular product, citrus washing up liquid, almost equaling sales of its packaged equivalent.
Lucinda Langton, head of sustainability at M&S Food, said, “At M&S, we want to help our customers live more sustainably by transforming how we sell our products. We know they care deeply about reducing plastic so we’re taking a test and learn approach to find innovative solutions.
“Our homecare trial builds on our refillable and packaging-free Fill Your Own concept, and both are important parts of our strategy to reduce plastic and packaging. Fill Your Own has already been hugely popular – showing there is high demand for refillable great value options – and if customers love M&S Refillable just as much, we’ll be rolling it out to more stores.”
