Supermarket chain Coles has been slammed by environmental campaigners ahead of the launch of its latest ‘Little Shop’ collection for kids.
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The shopping giant has been criticised for the range of plastic products targeted at children as people move away from plastic usage and towards more environmentally sound practices.
An online petition, which currently has over two thousand signatures, has been released calling for shoppers to boycott Coles after its blunder, in a bid to get the supermarket to stop giving away plastic “junk”.
The petition questions the timing of the promotion, which begins on July 17, as July is promoted as ‘Plastic Free‘ by many.
“Are you gobsmacked that Coles has brought out a new range of Little Shop toys during Plastic-free July?” the petition asked.
“You have just proved you really do not care for our children’s future by bringing these so called ‘collectables’ back,” it continued.
“Here you are handing out plastic junk that will end in landfill or in our oceans,” the petition read.
The petition organiser called for people to boycott the company and stop shopping there.
Coles released a statement to Daily Mail in response to the petition.
“Australians fell in love with Little Shop minis and told us about the fun they had collecting, swapping and sharing with their friends, families and communities. We had many requests to bring it back and customers told us they loved to collect and keep their minis.
“The campaign only runs for a limited time and customers who choose to collect them are able to recycle the wrappers at their nearest Coles through our in-store RedCycle program.
“For Coles online deliveries, mini collectable packaging can be returned to the driver, and recycled through the RedCycle program – one of the largest retailer-operated recycling programs of its type in Australia.
“As part of our commitment to better environmental outcomes, RedCycle allows customers to recycle soft plastics in provided bins at their nearest Coles store to be repurposed into outdoor furniture for pre-schools and primary schools,” they told Daily Mail.
