Anya Hindmarch makes shopping bags more sustainable with new launch

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 15, 2021

Can it really be 15 years since Anya Hindmarch first launched her ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ canvas tote? Unsurprisingly, given the current focus on all-things sustainable, the UK accessories designer is back at the checkout with her “next generation reusable shopping bag”. 

The “luxury” £10 bag goes on sale first in UK supermarket Sainsbury’s and then in Waitrose in the latest push to persuade more consumers to reject single-use plastic bags that remain prevalent at many a checkout.

And it’s not before time, given that findings still show the average household uses 50 ‘bags for life’ a year. Government data also shows nearly half a billion single-use plastic bags were sold from 2020-2021, five years after a levy on carrier bags was introduced.

So Hindmarch is hoping her latest offer will “revolutionise the way we carry our shopping”, being billed as “the next generation reusable shopping bag”.

The oversized tote bag, complete with a smiley face logo and racer-style straps, is coloured in either burgundy — to match one of Sainsbury’s signature colours when it launches there on 2 December — or a racing green when it goes on sale in Waitrose in January.

Although the bag, which is made from recycled plastic and is fully recyclable, is designed to withstand “10 years of hard labour”, it does include a built-in pocket that acts as a pre-addressed envelope so it can be posted for recycling when its time is up.

The designer, who said the project was about “eco not ego”, is in talks to launch the bag at other supermarket chains too.

“We’re never going to get away from needing bags because we need to move things from one place to another,” she told The Guardian newspaper. 

So she hopes the universal bag will encourage shoppers to think of long-term solutions. “The less we sell, the better. I want people to buy one, use it for 10 years and more, and then recycle it,” she added.

The launch also coincides with the introduction of the designer’s more upscale eco-friendly leather bag range called ‘Return to Nature’.

The new collection, which also aims help “revolutionise the handbag industry”, is made from fully traceable skins from Swedish farms and treated using a new natural tanning method that allows them to be fully biodegradable.