Christmas crackers bought from John Lewis and Waitrose branches will not contain any plastic toys inside, as the firms join others to minimise the amount of single-use plastics. This will be implemented as from 2020. 

Instead, the retailers will be putting toys made from recyclable materials inside the crackers. Furthermore, cardboard wrappers will cover the metal and paper toys, replacing the plastic glitter that was used to wrap the toys. 

John Lewis announced that it will also be it will be lowering the glitter used to decorate its range by two-thirds. 

Head Christmas buyer at John Lewis, Dan Cooper explained, “Reducing the amount of single-use plastic in products and packaging is really important to us and our customers. One of the challenges I face as a buyer is that we plan 18 months ahead, so it takes time for changes to become a reality. I’m always searching for new, more sustainable products which will make Christmas sparkle but won’t end up spoiling our environment.”

The ‘fill your own’ crackers are becoming a fairly popular purchase this Christmas. 

In addition, the retailer has saved around 8 tonnes of plastic in a year, by resorting to not use plastic wrapping for individual cards. 

Other businesses followed on Waitrose’s decision to ban glitter from its brand products last December. Plastic-free Christmas trees, plants and flowers are being sold at Tesco and Aldi removed plastic glitter from its Halloween decorations.  

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