Labour is backing calls for retailers to ditch expiry dates on gift cards.

It's thrown its weight behind Consumer New Zealand's Drop the Dates campaign.

Consumer Affairs spokesman Michael Wood said there's no good reason for expiry dates to be on gift cards.

"The retailer gets the money when they sell the gift card and that gift card is purchased in good faith. So, we think the fair thing to do is to get rid of expiry dates and to respect the value of those gift cards."