I went in to the Foodhall to buy some milk, and there was the big display all about it.
How it works;
You spend £20 and then you get a little paper bag containing a miniature replica of an M&S product.
You can buy a folding box in which to contain your collection.
I asked the guy at the checkout what these things were made of. "Recycled plastic" he said "And when you have finished playing, you can bring it back to us and we will recycle it into playground benches"
"Can I see one of these miniatures, please?" I said, indicating the little packets behind him. "I'm not allowed to open the packets- but you can see these pictures"
"I don't want a picture, I want to see the actual item" "They're proving very popular!" he said. "Not with me- but that's not your fault, you are just doing your job"
And I carried my milk and bread towards the door. By the door was a huge display and two assistants explaining about LS to a couple of Ferndown Grannies [three once I arrived on the scene] "Can we see inside one of the packets?" I asked "Oh no - but there are pictures of all the items in the collection box." So what are they made of?" I asked "Oh, they are all cardboard" said the girl. "What, this replica milk bottle is made of cardboard?" "Err no, that's plastic" "Plastic???!!" I said. Senior assistant said "It is plastic which you can return to the store for recycling when your child has finished playing with it and it will go to make playground benches"
"They look rather small, are you sure they wouldn't be a choking hazard?" "Everything's been fully tested I assure you"
"This is our special summer promotion, it is proving very popular"
"excuse me" I say [here she goes again they thought] "It says on your display that this promotion runs till September 8th" "That's right"
"So that means that if my granddaughter wants to collect the complete set, I have to spend a minimum of £500 in here over the next 8 weeks... I don't spend £65 a week in here! Any anyway, it's all random - so what if I get 6 bottles of milk, and no Peppa Pig sweets?"
"We are having 70 swap events around the country so children can trade their duplicates- and unwanted items will go to be recycled into playground benches. This promotion is already proving very popular"
Bob thinks that this promotion is probably aimed at grannies, who will collect this stuff in the mistaken belief that it will encourage their grandkids to learn more about fairtrade coffee, and the Vitamin C in a satsuma. Well this Grannie is definitely not on board.
It is certainly not 'proving very popular' in this household. I am disappointed in you, Carmen McQuaid
[Listen out for the key phrases "return to the shop for recycling" "made into playground benches" "proving very popular". What proportion of toys will just end up in the bin? how many benches will be made at the end of all this? - and 'popular' does not necessarily mean 'good'.]
I am equally disgusted after reading about this!!!! How utterly stupid!!! The standardized response you received annoys me even more. Because we all know that those who give a stuff about the environment won't get them anyway and those who don't will just dump them in the bin. There is no way the majority of shoppers can be bothered to take it back to store! Most people just don't care and I'm really tired of how many people are blinkered about it. Our school fair on Friday resulted in bins full of plastic cups, bottles and aluminium cans because our schools don't have the option for recycling other than paper. At our performance on Monday night, I was there fishing cans and bottles out the bin to take for recycling. If everyone could just change their mind set we could tackle this. But the government needs to take action. I'm sure M&S wouldn't do this and sooo much plastic if there were levies and sanctions on them!
ReplyDeleteSaw the ad on TV and thought ....Why are M&S trying to copy Macdonalds?
ReplyDeleteLooks like a load of tat to me. No M&S anywhere I go so this granny won't be getting any.
This is not just tat, it's M&S tat!
DeleteAbsolutely agree Ang. I was horrified when this came into my inbox. Apart from all other issues, it is just pushing people to spend more than they would have done. Shopping trolley? Apron? What ever possessed them?
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the incentive to buy more - the lady ahead of me in the queue had spent £39,and the assistant said "You only get one gift, as you haven't quite reached £40"
DeleteI clearly have other teachers and grandmothers in agreement with me here! Bob will be accusing me of "preaching to the choir" in a minute. Maybe rather than just ranting on the blog, I should actually write a proper letter to the manager of our local M&S Foodhall...
ReplyDeleteIt would take a LOT of those little items to make a bench!
ReplyDeleteBless, that is a BRILLIANT comment. I wish I had thought of that in store yesterday! I have just written to the manager of our local store, expressing my concerns!
DeleteI have written to M&S: Dear M&S
ReplyDeleteI would like to join in the chorus of voices that condemn your promotion "Little Shop..." In the midst of No-plastic July (when it is proving difficult to find things that don't involve plastic in its packaging!) you start a promotion that introduces yet more unwanted and unnecessary plastic into the environment!
It doesn't matter if this is proving to be a popular poromotion in-store - at some point, these plastic items will be thrown away. You say that they can be returned to be recycled - that's something, but, realistically, how many people will bother to do this? When children have finished playing with these bits of plastic, they will - for the most part - just get dumped into landfill.
It doesn't matter that those toys that are returned will get recycled into benches - it's still plastic. Plastic that doesn't decompose for hundreds of years. The plastic bench will, eventually, get thrown away, and won't decompose...Just because it's recycled plastic doesn't mean that it magically decomposes when finished with!
This is an UNNECESSARY promotion - it does nothing (despite your claims) that those parents who care about such things can't do already. It won't encourage other parents to teach their children about sustainibility; it will just teach children to want more unnecessary tat.
I fear that, despite your claims about sustainibility and care for the environment, you are
just doing your bit to add to the problem of the human race using and discarding our natural resources as if they were never-ending. I for one will not be buying from M&S until this horrid, unnecessary promotion is finished. And even then, I will be reconsidering whether M&S values are my values, and whether I wish to continue supporting your company.
I don't need to tell them that, as I live in France, I don't shop in M&S very often!!
This is brilliant Alison! I shall borrow this and adapt but you put it so exceedingly aptly!!
DeleteWell done FD. I did a few back-of-an-envelope calculations and even at a conservative estimate, you need at least 2000 little milk bottles to make one plastic bench
ReplyDeleteTotally with you on this. Are M&S mad?
ReplyDeleteSo glad everyone feels much the same. Well done for writing. I think we need a petition, or headlines in a national newspaper expressing horro and astonishment at M/S actions.
ReplyDeleteI spent over £20 on some things for Aged Parent so I got one. I don't know if I am missing something but I don't really get it. They seem too small for children to play with and I could barely see the writing on my teeny tiny packet of cheese. I'm not sure who it's for and that's before we get to the plastic issue
ReplyDeleteI'm still wondering about "choking hazards"
ReplyDelete