Seven-Eleven phases out toothpicks

TOKYO, Sep 13 (News On Japan) - Convenience store giant Seven-Eleven has removed toothpicks from its disposable chopstick wrappers.

Seven-Eleven stores throughout Japan have gradually been switching to new chopstick wrappers without toothpicks since the middle of last month.

Reactions on social media have been mixed, icluding "It's more eco-friendly without toothpicks," "The risk of poking your finger when taking out chopsticks has decreased," and "The era of carrying your own toothpicks has begun."

Regarding the reason for removing toothpicks, Seven & i Holdings explained that they had received many customer complaints about not using toothpicks even when they were included in the packaging. Additionally, they mentioned that it is part of their efforts for environmental conservation.

With this change, the width of the chopsticks and the plastic outer packaging have each been reduced by 1 millimeter.

Since October of last year, FamilyMart has also stopped including toothpicks, while Lawson continues to distribute them.

by Brian Dentry

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