There have been a raft of similar complaints about hangers sent out with web orders and used in store – especially on knickers and bras.
One woman said she was inundated with tiny hangers when she ordered baby clothes.
Emily Ziolkowski Tweeted M&S with her concerns, saying: “Hey M&S will you take all these baby hangers back? Big shopping online shopping spree and don’t need them. Seems a shame to throw out.”
And Jenni Adam echoed her concerns, tweeting: “Buying most of the kids’ clothes online since lockdown means a LOT of coathangers.
“I don’t understand why shops post these out rather than reusing – @marksandspencer, @Sainsbury – unless staff at fulfillment centres are under too much pressure to take them out. Such a waste!”
Andrea Leigh added: “Could you please stop sending out the tiny underwear hangers in online orders?
“I can see the display use in store but I have no need for them at home and they can’t be recycled easily kerbside.”
Caroline Loncq said: “Please make your bra hangers out of cardboard/cornstarch something other than black plastic.
“One has to take them home in order to be able to return the bra which makes your claim to be reducing plastic sound like greenwashing. What say you M&S?”
And another shopped added: “I almost had to fight one of your staff yesterday in order to NOT have to TAKE home PLASTIC hangers with bras I was buying.
“Told I CAN’T return the items if I do this. What kind of sustainability is that? Please explain #baffled #ReducePlasticWaste.”
Meanwhile shopper Mike John Tweeted the store saying he had a solution, saying: “Fifteen per cent of the 8-10 billion plastic clothes hangers produced each year are recycled, 85% usually end up in land fills.
“M&S should charge for clothes hangers & change to an environmentally sustainable solution.”
M&S has said it is “committed” to providing sustainable packaging and does currently collect and reuse hangers throughout its 180 stores.
Currently, hangers can be returned to its shops where they will be reused or recycled.
A spokeswoman added that since 2007 it has prevented a billion hangers from being sent to landfill.
She also added that shops were now displaying their underwear on tables to slash the number of hangers used.
She added: “In store, we have introduced a new display format whereby some lingerie is displayed on tables – removing the need for hangers. We plan to expand this format further.
“As we work towards our goal of becoming a zero-waste business by 2025, we are actively looking at ways to remove hangers before sending online orders to our customers and have a number of trials ongoing.
“Our jeans hangers contain 70% less plastic than the previous version and are designed for reuse using clever circular design
“Re returning the product without the hanger – underwear can be returned without them – the customer just needs to make sure they have the swing ticket with the barcode in place and, where relevant, the hygiene seal.”
