M&S Set To Remove 5.5 Million Plastic Units From Men’s Essentials Range
Marks & Spencer has announced a major packaging overhaul across its men’s essentials range, replacing plastic with recyclable paper packaging—a move set to remove approximately 5.5 million plastic units from its Clothing & Home business over the next year.
The initiative covers all men’s socks, woven pyjama sets and nearly 40% of men’s underwear lines, now packaged in FSC-certified paper with recyclable paper hooks. With one in five UK men purchasing underwear and nightwear from M&S, the retailer aims to make sustainable packaging accessible and convenient for its customers.
Pending successful trials in 2025, M&S plans to extend this paper packaging solution to more men’s essentials, potentially eliminating an additional 3.5 million units of plastic from its supply chain.
This marks the latest step in M&S’s efforts to reduce plastic packaging at scale. The company sells 20 million pairs of men’s socks annually and previously removed over 4 million units of plastic from its accessories range in 2023 through similar initiatives.
“We know we have a responsibility to do the right thing when it comes to our packaging by reducing unnecessary plastic,” said Katharine Beacham, Head of Sustainability for Clothing & Home at M&S. “This one small change will make a big impact and helps our customers shop more sustainably with confidence.”
The shift is part of M&S’s broader Plan A commitment to reach net zero by 2040, with plastic reduction being a key focus area.
