Marks & Spencer is unveiling a major new campaign called ‘Doing the right thing’ to remind customers of its ethical credentials half way through Plan A, its five year, 100 point sustainability plan.

Running across print, online, broadcast and in-store, the campaign will kick off this weekend with national press ads featuring a ‘manifesto’ which sets out the retailer’s commitment to the highest ethical credentials.

Follow up advertisements, also in the national press, will feature distinct messages and striking imagery about M&S products and their sustainability, health and eco credentials including: “We don’t sell poor quality meat. It comes at too high a price” and “Fairtrade cotton. Look good on the outside, feel good on the inside.”

M&S recently reported back at the half way point of Plan A with 39 of the 100 commitments already achieved. Of these, 24 commitments have been extended to cover even more ambitious targets. In clothing The M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange has encouraged 875,000 M&S customers donate used clothing to Oxfam, stopping over 3 million garments being sent to landfill, and the 5p charge for single use food carrier bags has cut the use of bags by 83% in 12 months.

Steve Sharp, Executive Director, Marketing, Marks & Spencer, said:
“Plan A has put us in a leading position when it comes to environmental and ethical issues, which we know customers care about increasingly. When we ask our customers what they think about our Plan A campaign, they say, ‘Well that is M&S just doing the right thing. That is what we would expect from M&S.’ This is exactly what we are going to play back to them. ‘Doing the right thing’ is a no nonsense user friendly expression of why we do what we do. “

The advertising campaign follows the successful ‘Look behind the label’ campaign which ran in 2006, and was the first major campaign by any retailer to focus on the way products are sourced and made.
The ‘Doing the right thing’ campaign will run in all M&S stores*, in the national press, on Classic FM and on the Plan A website.


For further information please contact:
Jo Keohane: 0208 718 1618/ jo.keohane@marks-and-spencer.com

Notes to Editors:

• The campaign will run in all M&S stores, with the exception of Franchise Simply Food stores

• The ‘manifesto’ advert will read:

• Doing the right thing is about having principles and sticking to them for all our M&S products. For example:
• Doing the right thing is about using only free range eggs in all our food.
• Doing the right thing is making sure all our food is free from hydrogenated fats, artificial colours and artificial flavourings.
• Doing the right thing is reducing the amount of plastic bags and packaging we use.
• Doing the right thing is making sure our raw materials come from the most sustainable sources available to us.
• Doing the right thing is treating the people we do business with fairly.
• Doing the right thing is reducing our carbon footprint.
• Above all, doing the right thing is doing it today, because our planet can’t wait until tomorrow.
  
• Examples of the advertising are available on www.mandslibrary.com

• Plan A was launched in January 2007 and is M&S’ five year 100 point eco plan to tackle a wide range of environmental and social challenges. The plan is organised around five pillars which represent the key areas where M&S believes it can make its business both more sustainable and kinder to environment. These five areas are: Climate Change, Waste, Sustainable Raw Materials, Health and being a Fair Partner. Each pillar has its own goal. By 2012 M&S aims to:
  
  o Become carbon neutral
  o Send no waste to landfill
  o Extend sustainable sourcing
  o Help improve the lives of people in our supply chain
  o Help customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle
  
  

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