Tuesday 1 March 2022

Tesco to ban plastic wet wipes in first for major UK supermarkets

Tesco has become the first major UK supermarket to make a commitment to scrap all baby wipes containing plastic.

It stopped stocking its own-brand plastic-based wet wipes and baby wipes two years ago, switching to biodegradable viscose as it breaks down far quicker.

It will now no longer sell branded baby wipes that contain plastic from 14th March 2022.

Tesco is the UK's biggest seller of baby wipes, selling more than 75 million packs or 4.8 billion individual baby wipes each year.

All branded and own-label wipes sold in UK stores, except one, are now plastic free, including moist toilet tissue and general cleaning wipes.

Only one type of wipes available at Tesco currently contain plastic, which is a pet wipe that will be plastic-free by the end of the year.

Tesco Group Quality Director Sarah Bradbury said: “We have worked hard to remove plastic from our wipes as we know how long they take to break down.

“There is no need for wet wipes to contain plastic so from now on we will no longer stock them if they do.”