M&S jam doughnuts have got a brand new look, and some shoppers aren't happy about it. We all love a sweet treat from time to time, and what better way to indulge than with a tasty doughnut? Better still, a doughnut filled with jam and dusted with sugar, making it the ultimate afternoon snack to pair with a cup of tea.

But shoppers looking to get their hands on some classic jam doughnuts from M&S might be in for a shock, as something has changed with the small fried treats. In a post shared on social media by an M&S customer, they showed the new packaging, which left them with a burning question.

In a Reddit post on the Marks and Spencer forum, they asked: "Why have we gone from paper bags to plastic ones?"

A picture of the doughnuts in their new clear plastic packaging was then shared, alongside three emojis of a person putting their hand to their forehead in frustration.

The poster did not indicate why they were annoyed about the packaging change, but many people in the comments suggested it could have been due to environmental concerns. Many people would likely believe that the paper bags the doughnuts used to come in were recyclable, whereas a plastic wrapper is not.

A spokesperson from M&S said: "At M&S, we’re committed to reducing packaging and using less plastic wherever possible. However, in some areas, such as doughnuts, plastic is the best option available today to maintain food quality, safety, shelf life and can be recycled.

"The bags we use are recyclable via in‑store flexible plastic collection points, and we continue to work with suppliers to improve their recycled content and reduce environmental impact."

One commenter said: "I may be wrong, but here are some potential reasons. Lined paper is really hard to recycle. On a greasy product like a doughnut, you need a plastic layer to stop the grease from leaching into the paper (and if it does, the paper becomes unrecyclable). You can get plastic laminated paper that meets recyclability criteria, but they do have limitations.

"They [M&S] probably did an assessment and figured out that a non-laminated plastic bag was easier to recycle and also probably uses significantly less energy (lower carbon footprint) than the paper. Paper is generally more energy and water-intensive to make than plastic."

Another commenter pointed out that making things easier to recycle may have been the goal because, from April 1, 2026, the UK government's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme will have higher fees depending on how easy a product is to recycle.

This means that if a product's packaging is hard to recycle, such as being made from different materials that cannot be separated, the company will have to pay a higher fee for that item compared to an easily recyclable item.

Someone said: "All the major shops are getting ahead of a change in law around recycling. Packaging needs to be either single type or easy to separate. The old paper with a plastic window didn't meet that criterion, but this all-plastic one does. Same reason Pringles now have a cardboard base."

Others said the doughnuts just look nicer in the plastic packaging, as you can clearly see each bakery treat, and customers have a much easier time picking out the ones that look the most delicious to them.

There were also plenty of people who said they didn't mind what packaging the doughnuts came in at all - as long as they were still as delicious as ever.