M&S NI is offering customers rewards for ‘shwopping’ their pre-loved clothes

M&S Northern Ireland is launching rewards for its Sparks customers every time they ‘shwop’ their pre-loved clothing – with treats including a free bag of Percy Pigs!

The initiative is part of M&S resetting its Plan A sustainability programme with a pledge to cut its carbon footprint by a third by 2025, as part of its commitment to be fully net zero by 2040.

M&S stores across Northern Ireland are taking part in the launch of a new incentive programme to reward M&S Sparks customers when they donate pre-loved clothes to its Shwopping partnership with Oxfam.

From this week onwards, M&S customers across the province can simply scan the QR code at the in-store “Shwopping Point” and a free treat will automatically be added to their Sparks loyalty scheme account via the M&S app.

With a free bag of M&S’s famous Percy Pigs on offer, M&S is making it easier for customers to enjoy lower carbon lives as part of the reset of its Plan A sustainability programme, with M&S pledging to cut its carbon footprint by a third by 2025 and committing to be fully net zero by 2040.

M&S launched its Shwopping partnership with Oxfam in 2008, and since then more than 35 million items of clothing have been donated by customers, worth an estimated £23 million for Oxfam’s vital work across the world. Pre-loved clothing is either resold, reused or recycled with absolutely nothing going to waste.

According to the latest M&S Family Matters report, climate change concerns continue to grow amongst UK families with 64% of the 5,000 respondents naming it as a top concern, up 3% compared to just three months ago and it is the fastest growing topic of family discussion, increasing by 7% on last quarter.

Lisburn’s Nicola Finlay, regional manager at M&S in Northern Ireland, said: “We’re proud to have been working with Oxfam for 13 years now to offer Shwopping to our customers. We know that our Northern Ireland customers care a lot about tackling climate change, so I’m really excited to be offering these new Shwopping rewards in our stores across the province, making it easier and more rewarding for customers to enjoy low carbon lives.

“Claiming your treat is really simple – just bring your pre-loved clothes with you on your next visit. Drop off your clothes and scan the QR code at our in-store “Shwopping Point” and a free treat will automatically be added to your Sparks account via the M&S app.”

M&S has reset its Plan A sustainability programme, with a singular focus on becoming a net zero Scope 3 business across its entire supply chain and products by 2040.

The retailer has set out a detailed roadmap to net zero using science-based targets aligned to the UN ambition of limiting global warming to 1.5c. The ambitious target would see M&S achieve full net zero ten years ahead of the government’s UK-wide strategy and will require rapid decarbonisation of its business to cut its carbon footprint by a third by 2025, from a 5.7million tonne 2017 baseline.

The retailer launched Plan A in 2007 and became the first major retailer to reach carbon neutral status in 2012. With the scale of the climate challenge bigger and more urgent than ever before, Steve Rowe, M&S CEO, has written to its global supplier base and hosted a business-wide event to rally its 70,000 colleagues behind plans to put a sustainable future at the heart of its transformation strategy.

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