Sainsbury’s is to shrink the cardboard tubes in its own-label toilet roll in a move that it claims will take 500 lorries off the road each year

The supermarket is to reduce the diameter of the inner cardboard tube on its ‘by Sainsbury’s’ toilet rolls by 12mm, a move which it says is a first and will reduce the carbon emissions of the product by 140,000kg of CO2 every year.

The move will allow the overall package size to be reduced, meaning that more packs can be carried in a single lorry.

It will also introduce new on-pack information aimed at helping shoppers make what it called “more sustainable purchasing decisions”.

Fiona Miall, toilet roll buyer for Sainsbury’s, said: “We are always looking for new ways to make small changes to our business that can help our customers make more sustainable choices.

“Our scale means that by making what seems like a relatively small packaging development, we’re able to make significant carbon savings.”

The revamped product will go on sale in stores during May.

The move is the latest packaging change to help it reach its goal of reducing its packaging weight by half by 2020 compared to 2005, which is a key target of the retailer’s 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan.

New packaging designs are reported to have generated an 11% reduction already in the last two years.