M&S rolls out 'Bring Your Own Bag' initiative for click-and-collect

Marks & Spencer is looking to remove 10 million units of plastic annually by rolling out its 'Bring Your Own Bag' (BYOB) initiative for click-and-collect to reduce packaging.

The BYOB initiative will roll out to 251 M&S stores, following a successful trial at 16 stores, which removed more than 109 thousand units of plastic over seven months.

The scheme removes the need for the traditional plastic carrier for online orders as they are picked and packed at the collection store, and the customer is asked to bring their own bag. During the trial, M&S said that customers praised the approach as “simple and straightforward” and an easy way to help them reduce their own plastic consumption.

More than 60 percent of M&S online shoppers opt for click and collect, which represents 15 million orders annually and, of those orders, around 25 percent are picked and packed in the customer’s local store, the equivalent of four million parcels.

Over the next few months, all click-and-collect orders that are picked and packed at the local collection store will be provided to the customer without a plastic carrier, with M&S stating that the ambition is to expand the initiative to all click-and-collect orders in the longer term.

Stephen Langford, director of M&S.com, said in a statement: “Using our stores to fulfil click-and-collect orders continues to grow and we want to use this as a channel to encourage a behaviour change that helps to reduce single use plastic consumption. During trial phase, we had great feedback from customers as they saw it as a simple action that, collectively, can make a big difference.”