The Pitch

 The Ad: I am Not a Plastic Bag

Our books, website, education materials, community programme and now bag are intended to inspire us, encourage us, remind us that we are what we do and that together we can make the world a better place.

We know, of course, that some people do much more of this stuff than we do but we also know that some people haven’t really thought about it much at all. That’s why we’re trying to communicate these ideas in styles and places where we can reach new audiences. This, we believe, is the route to mass engagement and real change.

Working with Anya Hindmarch and the Antidote design agency on a bag which carries the message “I’m not a plastic bag” gave us the opportunity to develop, in Anya’s words, “a walking billboard” for the first action, carried by some of the most photographed people in the world and seen by millions. Making that bag available to the general public at a price that most could afford was important to us and crucial to the success of the project.

 Style icons can be earth-friendly too. Keira Knightley is showing an environmentalist streak by carrying this Anya Hindmarch canvas tote, which reads “I am not a plastic bag.” The limited-edition bag is a great carryall in lieu of using the bags that that they give you at the store, and it’s a fab and chic way of putting your politics out there.

Photo from People.com.

From People.com Off the Rack:

Frantic fashionistas (yes, okay, myself included) waited in line for hours in London this morning in hopes of snagging the latest must-have designer bag. The I’m Not A Plastic Bag by Anya Hindmarch has been spotted the arm of Keira Knightley, it has an eco friendly message and wait for it… costs just £5 (or $10)!!! So off I go, at 9:30 AM, and I see a crowd of 300 or so people standing in the freezing cold outside the Knightsbridge store, yikes! With only a limited number on sale I decided to hot foot it to the department store Harvey Nichols and got there just in time to see a crowd running (yes, actually running) through the front doors. Walking through the store’s designer bag department amongst the Mulberry’s and Chloe’s seemed ironic but it was worth it, as bag in hand, I leave the store, triumphant . . . after all I have to do my bit for the environment, right?

— Monique Jessen …

The Story:
 
Exposed: ‘I’m not an ethical bag’

The designer shopping bag aimed at promoting green awareness was made using cheap labour in China, the Standard reveals today.

The ‘I’m not a plastic bag’ bag is a must-have fashion item and 20,000 sold out within an hour at Sainsbury’s. Women queued from 3am to get one of the £5 cotton bags made by leading designer Anya Hindmarch and they are changing hands on eBay for £225.

Today Sainsbury’s was accused of hypocrisy after it admitted the bag was made in China and was neither organic nor fair trade.

The chairman of an influential Commons committee said Sainsbury’s had ‘tarnished’ its image as a promoter of fair trade products.

A campaign group which highlights the exploitation of workers in the fashion industry said making the bag in China dented the bag’s ethical claims.

Read More…

A Retort