Sainsbury’s stops production and sales of own-brand plastic tampon applicators

The landmark move came after a campaigner's petition highlighted the 2.5 billion period products flushed away every year.

Sainsbury’s has stopped producing and selling own-brand plastic tampon applicators amid growing concerns over their impact on the environment.

The supermarket giant confirmed the news to Metro.co.uk, saying the landmark move was part of its efforts to minimise the use of ‘unnecessary plastic’.

It comes after campaigner, Ella Daish, 26, launched a viral petition early last year calling on manufacturers to make all menstrual products plastic free.

Sainsbury’s is the first decision maker on the campaign to make the move and will have products removed from its shelves by the end of this month.

A spokesperson said: ‘We are no longer producing an own-brand range of compact plastic tampon applicators.

‘This is one of a range of steps we are taking to minimise our impact on the environment and remove unnecessary plastic.’

Every day, 2.5 million tampons, 1.4 million pads and 700,000 pantyliners are wrongly flushed down UK toilets.

They end up washed up on beaches or incinerated in vast landfills, contributing to harmful CO2 emissions.

Ella, of Cardiff, Wales, said she was ‘delighted’ at the news after tirelessly campaigning for the last 18 months, with her petition garnering almost 200,000 signatures.

‘This is huge news. It’s so progressive and it’s the type of change we need supermarkets to be making,’ she told Metro.co.uk.

‘It just goes to show that awareness is rising and a change is desired by so many people’.

Ella said period products are often forgotten in the fight against single-use plastic, with bags, bottles and straws usually dominating the conversation.

‘It’s not a subject that people want to talk about but I knew I had to bring about change and raise awareness,’ she added.

‘These pads contain so much plastic you can’t even rip them in half.’

The activist said she first became passionate about the environment when she was a postal worker and noticed ‘just how much we are throwing away’.

But she was most ‘horrified’ to discover the huge environmental impact of sanitary pads – which are around 90 per cent plastic – along with plastic applicator tampons and their packaging.

With eco-friendly options, such as Mooncups, organic cotton pads, reusable period pants and applicator-free tampons now readily available, she decided to make the switch.

‘But the issue kept eating away at me,’ added the activist. ‘It seemed absurd that something we use for just a few hours takes centuries to break down.

‘I knew that if smaller brands were making them without plastic, then big manufacturers could as well and that there was no excuse for them not to.’

So, Ella decided to launch the ‘End Period Plastic’ campaign, with her petition covering menstrual pads, plastic applicator tampons, individual wrappers and packaging.

Now she is hoping other major supermarkets and leading menstrual manufacturers will follow Sainsbury’s lead.

Ella added: ‘There is no excuse, there are so many viable alternatives.

‘Their plastic content is unnecessary and the harmful impact they are having is totally avoidable, which is why we must stop this at source by getting manufacturers to make change happen.’

Click here to support Ella’s petition.