Asda fired the latest volley in the battle between supermarkets to be seen as green by pledging to reduce packaging on its own-label food by a quarter within a year. The initiative follows announcements by Tesco to introduce "carbon labelling" on packaging and Marks and Spencer's promise to become "carbon neutral".

Asda said it hoped to "virtually eliminate" packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables, which would be sold loose from boxes, helping to cut down on the waste sent to landfill sites by its customers. The chain is committed to stop sending its own waste to landfill by 2010.