A SAINSBURY’S customer has posted a shocking picture of the mountain of plastic wrapping used to send her children’s vests and tops.
Tamara Flumignan was furious that every single item was sheathed full length in plastic, demanding of Sainsbury’s: “Didn’t you watch Blue Planet?”
Tamara, from Hillingdon, London, received the package on Wednesday and piled up all the plastic used in her home.
She then posted pictures to Sainsbury’s Facebook page, telling them: “I’m truly gobsmacked by the amount of plastic you’ve managed to add to an order of cotton vests and children tops.
“Didn’t you watch Blue Planet 2 last year? Why are you wrapping your clothes length wise instead of folding them like everyone else?
“I didn’t order a leather jacket, which I might expect to arrive like this, but every day use cotton items? And hangers? Why?”
Due to the ongoing fight around the world to keep plastic use to a minimum, Tamara said she would now refrain from ordering at Sainsbury’s again.
“The planet is suffocating under an enormous amount of plastic, our seas are so contaminated that the fish we eat contains plastic particles, and you fulfill your deliveries like this?
“I had never placed an online order with yourselves before this and I definitely won’t be making another one either.”
Beverly Lakey responded on social media: “This is simply the tip of the iceberg, you should see the amount of plastic used to transport something as simple as yogurt.
“We must all rethink how and where we shop.”
Linda Clark wrote: “Another thing that’s annoying is all prepacked veg why can’t they have it all loose saves on plastic and we can choose the amount we need.”
Marina Schembri commented: “Shocking! However I don’t think they care.”
Georgie Lawson mentioned how other companies have been delivering orders: “Impressed with a Zara order this week, item wrapped in paper inside a paper bag. It can be done.”
Sainsbury’s replied to the post by saying that their packaging ‘must protect the product for our customers and then, where possible, use recyclable material’.
In the same reply they said: “We want to help our customers to recycle. To do this we use the on-pack recycling label scheme supported by WRAP.
“This aims to deliver a simple, UK-wide recycling message on both own brand and branded products.”
Tamara reacted by saying that she seen “no logic behind Sainsbury’s comment.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “We share Tamara’s concerns about the effects of plastic on the environment and, for a number of years, have been focused on reducing the amount of packaging we use.
“However we have also explained it’s important to continue to use packaging that protects our products where necessary.”
These complaints come just as Iceland have started selling bananas in recycled paper as a way of reducing plastic.
The bananas are also the first product in any UK supermarket to bear the Plastic Free Trust Mark.
Iceland claim this move will save on ten million plastic bags a year.
Waitrose began selling their Duchy Organic bananas with a sticky band last month – a decision the company thinks will save eight tons of plastic every year.
