The fight against plastic has gone global and this time, it is by Nestle. Nestle SA’s Japan arm has ditched plastic by releasing paper wrapping for its popular miniature KitKat chocolate bars. Currently, the transition from plastic to paper is planned for Japan market alone, which is one of the biggest markets for the company. To attract customers towards the new, matte packaging, Nestle has included instructions in the pack to turn the paper cover into an origami crane. Nestle’s Japan move alone could reduce the plastic wastage by 380 tons each year, Fast Company magazine reported. The company will launch the product later this month and it will be available in some of the most selling KitKat Japan flavours such as the original, matcha, and ‘otona no amasa’, or “sweetness for adults,” the magazine reported. 

It is not the first time that Nestle has pledged for environmental benefit. Earlier, the company had said that it aims to stop using plastic straws and certain plastic bottles for its products by 2025. Nestle also said that the company will phase out the usage of hard-to-recycle plastics. The company has also been testing reusable cans for its premium Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

Nestlé is ditching plastic straws by 2025 pic.twitter.com/PXXhJQ9pkf

— Mashable (@mashable) September 10, 2019

Recently, e-commerce behemoth Amazon’s India subsidiary also joined the league of pro-environmental companies and Amazon said that it is doing away with plastic wrapping material including bubble wrap and will include paper cushions in the packaging as the company’s contribution towards environment. 

Meanwhile, in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued a clarion call against single-use plastics. Calling on global leaders, PM Modi said that nations should follow India’s decision to ban single-use plastic, he said at a climate change crisis meeting in Greater Noida on Monday. As the country prepares for Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, Narendra Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission is also gaining momentum. It is widely anticipated that the blanket ban on plastics is due soon.