Remember the good old shopping bag? The one your granny used on the days she went shopping for vegetables and other groceries? The one which you gladly banished to the darkest depths of your storage cupboard and replaced with the colourful, shiny and smarter looking plastic carrier bags available at your local supermarket or department store?
Ah yes, the plastic carrier bag - how did we ever manage without it? Colourful, light, handy, water-resistant, re-usable and dead cheap (in fact, you can even get them for free from most UK retailers!), plastic carrier bags have turned into a status symbol for consumers in progressive, industrialised nations. There is indeed no greater reward for spending money at a shopping outlet than carrying away the purchased goods in a shiny, new plastic bag bearing the name of the shop you just made richer, right?
A word of caution, however: Owning plastic bags is addictive! This curious consumer item brings out the collector in all of us and when it comes to looking for a suitable method of carrying an item from A to B, anyone with a sound mind would reach for a plastic bag.
Let’s be honest, don’t you have a drawer in your kitchen stuffed to the brim with ‘re-usable’ bags?
This is not to condemn your honest effort to do your bid for the environment, but as responsible citizens of the world we need to highlight the bad news: Plastic carrier bags are bad for the environnment, even if used twice or thrice. They still needs to be disposed.
The Daily Mail recently drew attention to the negative impact discarded plastic bags have on the environment by publishing a series of shocking images of animals caught in or choking on discarded plastic bags.
Efforts have been made in the past years to replace the plastic carrier bag and fashion designers delved deep into the trousseau of their imagination, producing chique alternatives. Remember the ‘I’m Not A Plastic Bag’ creation by designer Anya Hindmarch?
Well, turns out that the bags were produced by cheap, underpaid labour in China (not to mention the carbon emissions it produced when transported back from China). An outcry of indignation followed and needless to say the producers of the bag said in hindsight that they never disguised its origin or claimed it to be ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘fairtrade’.
The lesson learnt is that you can no longer just go ‘organic’ or ‘eco-friendly’, but that you ought to be ‘organic’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘fairtrade’ all at the same time to get the nod of approval by the concerned consumer. In our society of superlatives nothing can be taken lightly, we are, after all, talking about Joe Public’s dearest accessory item.
The result is that we can now purchase cotton or jute bags produced by workers in a foreign land (labour market politics have not yet entered the discussion) who have received fair pay throughout the production process and which have been shipped in by sea to minimise carbon emissions.
Those who cringe at the thought of a bland jute bag on their arm, need not worry as help is at heand. The new trend has once again sent designers to the drawing board and the good news that you don’t have to dig out granny’s old shopping bag in order to go ‘eco’, because there are alternatives on the market.
Casa Copenhagen, for example, is launching their very own Birdgarden Shopper, the most stylish way to say NO to plastic bags! 
Produced under strict Fair Trade guidelines with IFAT certificate - the global network of Fair Trade Organizations, each bag in this collection is made with a love of colour and has a special detail where hand-work has been used. Available in gorgeous shades of Aqua/Chocolate - Chocolate/Aqua and Red/Pink - Pink/Red, the bags have been hand screen printed using only AZO free dyes.
(For those not in the know: AZO dyes and pigments are commonly used to colour textiles and plastics. Some of the by-products, such as chlorinated aromatic amines, are toxic and may be potential carcinogens. Also, AZO dyes and pigments resist biodegradation under aerobic conditions, so they are difficult to remove from an ecosystem)
2% of Casa Copenhagen’s profits go to a girls school in India; it provides an opportunity for girls to get education, independence and a way out of poverty.
Beat that, granny!
To view the full range by Casa Copenhagen and read more about their ethical production, please visit www.casacopenhagen.com .
Another alternative to the plastic bag is the Shop Box by the Camouflage Company. A chique and stylish way to shop, this reusable carrier box is specifically designed to fit into supermarket trolleys and is light enough to fold away in your car or at home.
It is perfect for your weekly shopping trips: simply unfold the box and pop in the trolley, fill up with groceries and then once at home carry from the car to the house. These are the ultimate ‘Boxes for Life’.
The Shop Box is available in two sizes with the option of combining the large and small to create compartments to organise shopping. Available in Willow, Evergreen, Long Grass and Roses and Petals