Coles slammed for mini collectables promotion after plastic bags ban

Furious shoppers have slammed Coles for giving away toy plastic replicas of its grocery products, just weeks after banning plastic bags in a bid to protect the environment. 

The supermarket giant announced on Wednesday that shoppers can collect 30 iconic miniature household items, including Vegemite, Nutella, Weet-Bix and Tim Tams, for every $30 spent at the checkout.

But Clean Up Australia says Coles is squandering consumer goodwill from its bag ban, and the ‘Little Shop’ promotion sends a mixed message about where the retailer stands on limiting plastic waste. 

 

Furious shoppers have slammed Coles for giving away toy plastic replicas (pictured) of its grocery products, just weeks after banning plastic bags in a bid to protect the environment 

Consumers vented their anger on social media, saying the promotion was a direct contradiction to the supermarket’s previous environmental pledge. 

The supermarket said it was committed to phasing out single-use plastic carry bags by July 1 ‘because we believe it is the right thing to do for the environment.’

That pledge led one person to ask on the Coles Facebook page: ‘Can you please explain why you’ve just eliminated single use plastic bags from your store only to turn around and mass produce completely useless plastic knickknacks?’

‘I thought Coles Supermarkets were committed to reducing waste,’ another person said.

The supermarket giant announced on Wednesday that shoppers can collect 30 iconic miniature household items, including Vegemite and Weet-Bix, for every $30 spent at checkout

The supermarket giant announced on Wednesday that shoppers can collect 30 iconic miniature household items, including Vegemite and Weet-Bix, for every $30 spent at checkout

Clean Up Australia managing director Terrie-Ann Johnson said the promotion would certainly add to the nation’s waste and would ‘last as long as the child’s boredom level’. 

‘They’ve worked hard on that messaging and now to come out with something like this – it’s just so inconsistent, and it’s fairly questionable as to why,’ she said.

Many addressed the toys’ unsustainable material and asked how long they would last before making it to landfill. 

‘They appear to be made from virgin plastics (material made directly from fossil fuels that do not have any recycled content) they would’ve had a better win if they had produced these things using recycled plastics,’ Jayne Paramor, Deputy Director of the Boomerang Alliance told SBS News.    

Executive director Jeff Angel also agreed, saying: ‘They do one good thing with one hand, and then introduce another nonsensical and environmentally damaging item with another.’

‘The vast majority of these so-called collectables will be thrown away, finding their way into the litter stream and certainly landfill. It’s another example of mad marketing that doesn’t care about wasting resources and polluting the environment,’ he told The Guardian.

Clean Up Australia says Coles is squandering consumer goodwill from its bag ban, and the 'Little Shop' promotion sends mixed messages

Clean Up Australia says Coles is squandering consumer goodwill from its bag ban, and the ‘Little Shop’ promotion sends mixed messages

Whilst Coles conceded their collectables were ‘not made from recyclable materials’, they pointed out the toys included a range of materials including ‘paper, cardboard, plastic and foam’.

‘At Coles we take our responsibility for managing our environmental and social impacts seriously. As a business we are committed recycling and minimising waste,’ a Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 

The supermarket chain said shoppers were able to refuse to accept the toys and that the plastic wrappers they came in were able to be recycled.  

‘We know that customers are keeping the mini collectables and accessories, reusing them on a regular basis or sharing them with their friends and family … Our customers are enjoying and keeping them for the future which means they aren’t heading to landfill,’ the spokesperson said.    

 

 



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