Marks & Spencer has achieved an 80 per cent cut in the number of plastic carrier bags it is giving away.
The high street retailer is launching an advertising campaign to coincide with meeting the environmental target, to highlight its green credentials, according to the Daily Mail.
M&S has charged 5p per bag since May, recording a drop of 100 million bags handed out since then compared to the year-earlier period.
Some £500,000 of the proceeds from the plastic bag charging has gone to the charity Groundwork, which creates new play areas.
More than 150 M&S store windows will display the ad campaign.
Other supermarkets will now come under increased fire for the amount of bags they give away.
The big four retailers and Waitrose are lobbying against a ban on throwaway bags, claiming consumers are not prepared to pay for them, but they only have until April to adopt the M&S scheme. Those who fail to comply will be forced to adopt charges under proposals in the Climate Change Bill that is going through parliament.
Discount chains Aldi, Lidl and Netto all charge for bags.
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