As part of its commitment to minimise environmental impact, Target Australia launched an industry-first range of 100 per cent recyclable, plastic-free Christmas wrapping papers, cards, tags and bows, available nationwide and online.
An estimated 150,000 kilometres of gift wrap are used during the holiday season in the country.
While some consumers assume they’re paper-based, many gift wraps, ribbons, cards, gift boxes, and gift bags contain plastics and foils that prevent them from being recycled.
Each product within the range will be entirely plastic-free and can be recycled via kerbside collection bins and easily identifiable for shoppers through the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) Program on-pack labelling.
“We are strongly committed to reducing our impact on the planet, and this initiative is just one way to make a big difference,” said John Gualtieri, CEO of Kmart and Target.
“We know that wrapping gifts is such an important ritual at Christmas time, so it was important for us to use this to drive our product innovation and give our customers an option that is ultimately better for the environment.”
Some of the features in the eco-friendly range include:
- Single Christmas wrapping paper rolls protected with tear-strip paper packaging rather than shrink wrap
- The cover and seal for all single Christmas paper rolls have been designed to peel off without using any plastic or sealant products.
- Multi-pack rolls of wrap are packaged in paper boxes rather than with shrink wrap.
- Christmas gift bags with paper hooks, paper cord handles, and barcodes printed directly onto the bags
- Christmas gift tags and cards are in paper envelopes or paper window boxes with paper seal labels in place of the polybags and PVC boxes of years past.
- Lamination has been removed from gift bags, gift card boxes and cards.
Furthermore, as a part of its comprehensive sustainability program, Target and Walmart have pledged to eliminate all loose plastic glitter from their own-brand hard goods by 2025. Additionally, they are working towards ensuring that all packaging on their own-brand products will be recyclable by the end of 2025.
