The Archbishop of York has welcomed a 'plastic free' version of The Real Easter Egg.
Out of the 80 million eggs sold in the UK every year The Real Easter Egg is the only one which includes a 24 page copy of the Easter story in the box, is Fairtrade and supports charitable causes.
This year the Real Easter Egg is going plastic free. The change is in response to a survey which found that 96% of Christians think it is important for Easter Eggs to be plastic free and news that 11.5 million tonnes of food packaging waste is produced every year.
David Marshall from the Meaningful Chocolate Company, who make the Real Easter Egg, said: "Easter eggs don't have to cost the earth. We have replaced plastic bags, tamper-seals and Best Before stickers with paper versions. There is still the same amount of chocolate in the Real Easter Egg and the box sizes are the same but the redesign means our Dark and Original Egg will save at least 5 tonnes of plastic and 175 tonnes of card in the next five years."
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said; "I am delighted that an Easter Egg, which shares the Story of Easter, is leading the way by reducing packaging. Clearly there is demand for unnecessary plastic to be removed from food packaging and I encourage people to let other manufacturers know that changes can be achieved."
In addition to being plastic free, the card used in the Real Easter Egg is 100% recyclable as is the foil. The chocolate contains no Palm Oil, said to have been responsible for about 8% of the world's deforestation between 1990 and 2008. Because the chocolate is Fairtrade certified the growers have received a donated cash bonus as well as a fair price.
The free 24 page Easter story-activity book is illustrated by award winning artist Martina Peluso covers the final week of the life of Jesus and includes the events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The book contains a prize competition worth £200. There are a range of different eggs available including a sharing box for church events.
The Real Easter Egg stocked by TESCO, ASDA, Morrisons, Waitrose, and a network of independent retailers and churches. Details at www.realeasteregg.co.uk