The I'm Not a Plastic Bag saga

As I mentioned in my inaugural post for The Old Bag Project, my bid to find the best alternatives to plastic bags, I've been trying to lay my hands on the new Anya Hindmarch-designed bag that's due to go on sale in branches of Sainsbury next month.   

I've had mixed feelings about this bag since I learned more about it, not least because, as a post on Guardian Unlimited's News blog written by one of my colleagues points out today, it's ironic that a product that is meant to reduce plastic bag consumption has instead fostered a celebrity-inspired media frenzy which has culminated in the bags being offered on eBay for far more than their original price.

One has to speculate at how many plastic bags will be saved by the owners of these designer numbers as a result of their purchase: I hope it's many thousands, but then one could have just as easily spent pennies on a cheap cloth bag from a charity shop or made your own chic bag made of recycled plastic bags.

Still, as we all know, it's not easy being green, and I am not alone in being a mass of contradictions when it comes to my purchasing habits. So I've been trying to buy one for review purposes for the Old Bag Project and finally, almost by chance, today, the site was working and I managed to buy one - I think. The order certainly went through anyway. When it turns up I shall, of course, review it here - then it'll be going to Canada into the hands of my sister who is far more stylish than me and will no doubt make good use of it.

Comments

[louise perrone]

if this is a question of style then i have to add that i will only be using it in canada where people will probably think "that's a cute bag" without any knowledge of the lengths that have gone to get it. I would also never wear my hunter boots in england for similar reasons. one has to have a certain mystique if you know what i mean!

[drcharles]

dont worry about the contradictions... i think they can be used to create mass inaction - at leat you're trying.
I'd like to ask a quick favor. I deleted my old blog, and somehow a sleazy company set up a new one immediately using my now defunct URL. They are selling a potentially dangerous drug called phentermine from my old site. If you'd be so kind please change your blogroll to http://scienceblogs.com/drcharles or just delete me. Thank you very much. I'll be contacting Blogger about this as well.

[Bill Lee]

And Louise can tell you that the
exotic town of Rossland is trying to
be the first in North America
to ban plastic bags.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070322.wpl
astic22/BNStory/National/
Communities' pride is totally in the bag

Towns vie to be first to slap ban on plastic

TENILLE BONOGUORE

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

The race is on to become the first town in North America to ban
plastic bags, and two small Canadian communities are leading the
charge.

Leaf Rapids, in northern Manitoba, is already trumpeting itself the
winner, thanks to a bylaw facing the final vote next week.

But the British Columbia mountain town of Rossland is hot on the
Manitoba community's heels, surfing what the mayor says is just the
crest of a national anti-plastic wave.

On the same day over in B.C., the Rossland council looks likely to
back a voluntary ban on single-use bags.

"Right now, there seems to be a groundswell of support within the
community," Rossland Mayor Gordon Smith said. "I think there's a crest
of a wave beginning to form."

Interest from resort developers has put the Monashee Mountains town on
the map, he said, but that comes with a matching pressure to protect
the environment.

"We're at a crossroads. We're thinking about local strategies."

The idea of a voluntary town-wide ban was brought to Rossland council
by local resident Tracey Saxby, who wants to emulate the success of 14
towns in her native Australia that are now plastic-bag-free.

While she hoped her adopted home of Rossland would claim Canada's
bag-ban crown, Ms. Saxby said it is "fantastic" that Leaf Rapids was
already on the path, while people from other B.C. towns have also
asked for information from her fledgling not-for-profit group, Greener
Footprints.

[Jane Perrone]

Dr Charles: thanks for the heads up - that's now fixed ...

[Jane Perrone]

Update: the bag is now winging its way to me via the post ... I am aquiver with excitement!

[Violet]

From 15 April Bags of Change will be selling a pretty funky hemp-cotton bag which will also reward you for shopping ethically and locally. You can sign up now for a sneak preview www.bagsofchange.com

[yuppiegurl]

I'm desperately looking for this Anya Hindmarch "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" bag i'm in love with. I live in Barbados, Caribbean and it is not available here. Can you please tell me where I can buy it? Please don't tell me eBay. My arm is lonely without this bag.

http://www.yuppiegurl.blogspot.com

[suzuki]

Hello! This blog that it was difficult as for the English for the Japanese who watched blog of English study in various ways now that it came from Japan was interesting

[rochelle libiran]

where could i buy the bag if im here in the Philippines? tnx