Shoppers boycott Coles' latest Little Shop collectibles: "It beggars belief"
A group of mums are calling for a boycott of Coles’ Little Shop collectables as the promotion coincides with Plastic Free July.
Many Little Shop collectables fans were excited when the supermarket giant confirmed the news that yes, their second Little Shop range would be coming on July 17.
There is a range of 30 mini items available, and will be sold with a collector’s case, mini trolleys, basket and aprons. There are also new additions to the Little Shop which include a toy cash register and a Coles replica truck.
However, Coles has been slammed since the announcement for giving out “plastic junk” and a petition on change.org has been started to ban the toys. The petition has attracted almost 500 signatures.
“Are you gobsmacked that Coles has brought out a new range of ‘Little Shop’ toys during Plastic Free July?” the petition says.
“Wow ... Coles ... just wow ... you have just proved you really do not care for our children’s future by bringing these so called ‘collectables’ back.
“This is when most people are doing their best to bring their own bags, choosing less packaging on their foods and saying no to straws. Here you are handing out plastic junk that will end in landfill or in our oceans.”
The petition has said that the Little Shop collectables are a “slap in the face” for all people who care about the planet.
“It’s time to think of our children and what their future will look like with all this unnecessary plastic,” it reads.
The petition comes after a woman found one of the plastic toys on a beach in Bali in November last year. Another man found one of the collectables washed up on Buddina Beach in Queensland in August 2018.
Coles told Yahoo News Australia at the time that the collectables used plastic that’s fully recyclable, including its packaging.
“The Little Shop campaign only runs for a limited time and customers are able to recycle the wrappers at their nearest store through our in-store REDCycle program,” a spokesperson said.
“For Coles Online deliveries, mini collectable packaging can be returned to the driver, and recycled through our REDCycle program.”
Coles also responded to a woman’s Facebook post on its page, where the woman asked the supermarket giant to not launch the Little Shop promotion.
“The Little Shop mini collectables are designed for customers to keep and not dispose of and customers can choose whether they would like to collect or not,” Coles replied.
“Last year we saw customers collecting and swapping with their friends, family and colleagues, and they really valued the minis as collectables to be kept in the future.”