Coles and Woolworths are urged to make an ‘Australian Made’ shopping aisle

Shoppers are calling for Coles and Woolworths to introduce an ‘Australian Made’ aisle to support local businesses.

The ‘shopping aisles for Australian Made’ petition has tallied more than 25,000 signatures since it was created amid the coronavirus pandemic in April. 

‘It’s time to support local business making Australian made products,’ the GoPetition says.

‘Being so reliant on other countries to provide Australia with food, clothing, oil, steel and other products costs us jobs and leaves us vulnerable in uncertain times.

‘It’s time to start paying a few dollars extra and supporting local business, which in turn supports us.’ 

The petition says websites can assist in finding Australian products but a dedicated section in the major chains ‘would make it even easier’.

‘Imagine having an area or aisle dedicated to Australian made products, this would help support Australian business, jobs, and save us shoppers a lot of time,’ the petition reads.

‘Let’s all get around this idea and push for the major chains to help local business making Australian made products.’

The petition, which is targeted towards Woolworths, Coles and IGA, has 26,399 signatures. 

A Coles spokeswoman said the supermarket giant knows customers place a high priority on purchasing locally produced groceries.

Shoppers are calling for Coles and Woolworths to introduce an ‘Australian Made’ aisle to support local businesses. Pictured: An aisle at a Woolworths supermarket

‘As an Australian company, we are keen to support other Australian businesses to deliver great quality local products to our customers,’ the spokeswoman said.

‘To do this, we pride ourselves on having an Australian First Sourcing Policy, which means that we source Australian grown food wherever and whenever we can.

‘100% of fresh meat and eggs, 96% of fresh fruit and vegetables and more than 85% of Coles Own Brand packaged food and drinks are Australian.’

The spokeswoman said Coles takes its Country of Origin labelling responsibilities ‘very seriously’.

‘Customers can easily find out about the country of origin of our Coles Own Brand products by looking at the ticket or label,’ the spokeswoman said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Woolworths and IGA for comment.  

A Coles spokeswoman said the supermarket giant knows customers place a high priority on purchasing locally produced groceries. ‘As an Australian company, we are keen to support other Australian businesses to deliver great quality local products to our customers,’ the spokeswoman said