Hello, I’m Ella, the ‘new’ Supermarkets Campaigner here at PAN UK.
It’s been six months since I started this position – on one hand I can hardly believe it’s been that long and on the other it feels like I’ve been here forever. I remember the moment I got a call back with the job offer; I tried to be calm and collected but once the conversation ended, I screamed “I GOT IT!!!!” at the top of my voice. That’s how excited I was to join the team and to reconnect with my activism roots which are in corporate campaigning.
Back in 2018, I started my journey as a solo activist by launching a campaign to #EndPeriodPlastic whilst working as a postal worker. This called on supermarkets and manufacturers to remove plastic from period products including pads, applicators, tampons, and packaging. The campaign gained over 248,000 signatures and succeeded in getting decision makers to act. It led to four major brands and retailers removing plastic tampon applicators from their products, most supermarkets stocking alternatives, and many exploring product innovation to start their own plastic-free ranges. It also influenced the Welsh Government and five Welsh councils to spend their period dignity funding (which makes products freely available at schools, colleges and spaces like libraries) on plastic-free products and reusables.
Ella Daish holding a giant tampon applicator made from discarded applicators as part of her corporate campaign to end plastic in period products.
To my amazement, in my first week at PAN UK I found myself back in the room with a supermarket (albeit virtually), prompting nostalgia for my campaigning roots and excitement for future possibilities. The last six months have been a steep learning curve, getting to grips with pesticides (which can be a highly technical subject) and how they affect the farm workers who spray them, the environment, wildlife and our health. I’ve also been getting my head around the details of what each of the ten supermarkets is doing to reduce pesticide harms. It’s been intensely eye opening, and I’ve only just scratched the surface on pesticides.
Stepping into a campaign which is well established is not only empowering and thought provoking but also a little mind boggling. That said, witnessing the strong relationships PAN UK has carved out with supermarkets is impressive and an incredible springboard for what comes next.
This year we’ve already seen more positive changes from supermarkets. I have already met with all ten of the UK’s biggest supermarkets to discuss where they came in our 2024 ranking and make recommendations as to where they can make progress. It’s been interesting observing the way in which each supermarket engages and responds to our calls to action, as well as how they approach moving forward on pesticides. Some focus on residues in food and transparency, whereas others are strong in their approach to supporting suppliers in their supply chains to adopt non-chemical alternatives. It’s all so intricate and challenging yet powerful, which is one of the things I personally love about corporate campaigning.
While most of my days are spent in meetings or at a computer, a major highlight for me from the last six months has to be visiting one of the supermarkets innovation farms with colleagues where they showed us how they were farming with nature. We even got to see a crop of wheat which is used in the flour on their store shelves!
We’re currently working on the supermarket campaign’s latest strategy and it’s pretty exciting to see sketch out the potential opportunities. I can’t wait to share more with you when the time comes.
The UK’s biggest supermarkets have made it clear that the main factor driving them to change is hearing that their customers care about an issue. A big part of my role is enabling you to make your voices heard so keep your eyes peeled!
Meet Ella Daish, PAN UK’s new Supermarket Campaigner
