Tesco has announced it will become the first UK supermarket to ban all baby wipes containing plastic later this month.

From March 14, Tesco – the UK’s biggest seller of baby wipes - will no longer sell branded wipes containing plastic.

It comes after the UK’s biggest grocer stopped using plastic in its own brand baby wipes two years ago.

Tesco sells 75 million packs of baby wipes each year and the move forms part of the retailer’s wider aim to cut plastic consumption.

Tesco reveal strong stance on plastic wet wipes

Tesco Group quality director Sarah Bradbury said:“We have worked hard to remove plastic from our wipes as we know how long they take to break down.

“There is no need for wet wipes to contain plastic so from now on we will no longer stock them if they do.”

It’s not just baby wipes that have been reformulated by the supermarket, all branded and own-label wipes in UK stores – bar one – are now plastic free. 

Plastic-free wipes include moist toilet tissue and general cleaning wipes. There is only one type of wipe available at Tesco that contains plastic, a pet wipe, which will be plastic-free by the end of the year. 

Tesco started to make its own-label wet wipes plastic-free in 2020 and has since been switching to bio-degradable viscose as it breaks down far quicker.