the Business Forum and
the Economic Partnership
in Brighton & Hove
Homepage    BCRP Intranet    Funding    Events    Partners     Knowledgebase    Links    About us     Contact us
Key projects
Crime
reduction
 

Workforce development 

Transport
 

Business &
climate
change

Property &
Development sites

Business
Improvement
Districts

Housing
 

Strategy
 

Consultation opportunities
 

Shopping & Eating Out Guide
 

Brighton & Hove Business Forum
8-11 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton, BN1 1EE
Tel: 01273 735442
Email: info@brighton
business.co.uk

© Brighton & Hove
Business Forum

News - 13 September 2008
Bags of Change

Bags of bags

Are we producing so many ethical bags that it is becoming unethical? Bags for Life, Green Bags and cloth bags are all very wholesome but how many do we have stashed away in a cupboard that have rarely seen the light of day let alone a load of shopping?

Sainsbury's tried to make a designer statement with its ethical 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' to give it an exclusive and therefore more desirable and usable quality but that back-fired when the green lobby unearthed disconcerting details about how the bag was produced in China and then shipped round the world.

Harrods perhaps tops the league with a value statement ethical bag that costs a mere £50. That is one ethical bag that is likely to be used more than once – but chances are you wouldn't have more than one and therefore still need to use plastic bags for the rest of the shopping.

The latest green bag scheme to be launched is a national effort aimed at independent retailers. Retailers are being invited to sign up to a deal that requires them to offer discounts or free gifts to users of the new 'Bag of Change'.

But retailers may not want to do that when they already have so many other local options. The North Laine Traders were the first to launch an ethical bag in Brighton. Since then the Council, Brighton Visitor, the Hove Business Association and countless other organisations have launched similar initiatives. Organisations in other towns and cities have done the same.

Perhaps there is some benefit in the fact that the organisation behind the Bag of Change has set up a web site and offers readers a free e-newsletter. They use this to provide information about retailers that have signed up and encourage readers to visit those stores.

The bags are also a cut above the norm in design terms with options varying in price from £14.99 to £35. The most expensive one is made from ethically tapped rubber from the Amazon – so one assumes a fair bit of carbon was burned shipping them to the UK.

Some commentators have suggested that we need to rethink the whole anti-plastic bag issue. There are companies based in the UK that produce bags from recycled plastic. They are cheap to buy and light and so can be shipped without burning too much carbon. These companies are also disposing of plastic that would otherwise end up in a landfill somewhere in this country. Is this the ethical way forward for British retailers?


Read related items on:
Retail, pubs, clubs and restaurants
Carbon Emissions
Recycling
Harrods
Sainsbury


Browse our business Knowledgebase or search by keyword


Headlines

6 January 2009
Latest weekly footfall figures for Brighton city centre
6 January 2009
Alcohol Disorder Zones deemed unworkable 6 January 2009
Banning happy hour won't stop teenage drinking 6 January 2009
Business Link to be rationalised 6 January 2009
Christmas trade - mixed picture. 6 January 2009
Oil - a flickering light on the horizon of recession? 5 January 2009
Don't give up on climate change during recession 3 January 2009
Sussex district councils to employ BID style security guards 3 January 2009
New scheme to protect jobs proves popular 3 January 2009
Latest weekly footfall figures for Brighton city centre 2 January 2009
House price decline unabated 2 January 2009
Latest weekly footfall figures for Brighton city centre 2 January 2009
Gordon gloomy over prospects for 2009 1 January 2009
Latest weekly footfall figures for Brighton city centre 1 January 2009
Brighton Business web site increases traffic by over 60% 27 December 2008
New powers to clamp down on alcohol disorder 27 December 2008
Are attempts to kick start the economy failing? 24 December 2008
Zavvi succumbs to the recession 21 December 2008
Christmas is a time for giving ...it is also a time for taking! 20 December 2008
Life can wait 20 December 2008
Brighton focuses on eurozoners 19 December 2008
Univeristy of Sussex - world leading. 19 December 2008
Companies urged to compete for 2012 business 19 December 2008
Have your say on Environmental Health Enforcement Policy 18 December 2008
City to gain Centre for Work & Learning 17 December 2008
New Planning Act 16 December 2008
Inflation falls 15 December 2008
Newhaven/Dieppe link under threat 15 December 2008
Now's the time to buy local 15 December 2008
Croydon shows new way to fund regeneration 15 December 2008
Gatwick Express comes to Brighton 14 December 2008
Councils look at forming the people's bank 13 December 2008
Retail fallout 13 December 2008
Clicks and Mortar prove winning combo 12 December 2008
Brighton's Jubilee Square hosts Festive French Market 12 December 2008
Marina inner harbour planning application rejected 12 December 2008
Manchester says no to Congestion Charge 11 December 2008
Proposed Clock Tower enhancements exhibition 10 December 2008
New regulations for Chuggers? 10 December 2008
Economic Partnership publishes draft economic strategy for the city