Quality Street axes plastic wrappers after 86 years in green drive
3 October 2022, 18:38
Quality Street is to axe the famous bright plastic wrapping on its chocolates to make them more environmentally friendly, in a move expected to stop two billion wrappers a year ending up in landfill.
The change will take several months to complete, so this Christmas fans will find a mix of old and new wrappers in their Quality Street tubs and tins.
Chocolates such as strawberry delight will continue to come in bright wrapping, but instead of being coated in plastic, the sweet treats will wrapped in paper coated in a vegtable-based wax.
The specially created vegetable-based coating is designed to keep the sweets fresh without hindering the recycling process.
The manufacturers of Quality Street, Nestle, said it believed people would respond "positively" when it unveils the new plastic-free wrappings in the coming weeks.
Nine of the 11 Quality Street sweets will move to paper-based packaging, which most local authorities collect. The orange crunch and green triangle will remain in foil wrappers as, traditionally, they have not had a plastic layer.
Head of sustainability, Cheryl Allen, said: "Quality Street is a brand that people feel very strongly about.
"We know that opening the lid and seeing 'the jewels', as we call them, is really important.
"We think we've done a really good job with the redesign and feel confident that people will respond positively."
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For a number of years, Nestle has been working to reduce packaging and food waste across its products.
On its website, the company says: "Packaging helps protect food and beverages, ensure product quality and safety, communicate nutritional information and prevent food waste.
"However, these essential requirements should not come at the expense of the planet. That's why we are continually developing more sustainable packaging and committed to reducing waste from packaging."
