Ethical Bags – so what’s it all about?

Ethical Bags is a small, family-run business that aims to help people reduce their plastic bag use by supplying good quality reusable alternatives, such as Onya bags and string bags. We also aim to support community initiatives that actively reduce, reuse or recycle waste, such as the Rag Bag scheme in India.

The plastic bag issue

According to Defra, around 13 billion carrier bags are issued each year – on average that’s nearly 300 per adult! Many of these end up as litter or as waste in landfill sites. The government estimates that reducing the amount of single-use shopping bags (both paper and plastic) by 3.25 billion will save 58,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, the same as taking 18,000 cars off the road for a year.

In the future, free disposable plastic bags will become a thing of the past. But why wait, when you can make a difference now? Simply buy one or more reusable shopping bags and take them with you when you go shopping.

Keep it ‘onya’!

45% of shoppers claim to have bought a Bag for Life but only 12% regularly use one. We know it can be difficult to remember to take your reusable bags with you, or that sometimes a trip to the shops may be a spur-of-the-moment thing, and despite the best intentions you end up using the free plastic bags at the supermarket. This was our experience for quite a while, but we’ve found that since we bought a few Onya bags, the amount of plastic bags we use has fallen dramatically. The Onya bag scrunches up into a small pouch that can fit in a pocket, attach to a keyring or simply float around in a handbag, so that it is always ‘onya’, ready for any unplanned trip to the shops.

88% of shoppers currently put all their shopping into free carrier bags, but you don’t have to be one of them!

Happy shopping!

Sam and Kate, Ethical Bags