Bag lady

I understand there’s been quite a fuss in England over the new reusable ‘designer’ canvas bags now on sale at Sainsburys. For those who don’t know, Sainsburys is now selling a canvas shopper which carries the slogan ‘I am not a plastic bag’. It’s available at the till for a fiver. Originally the bag was conceived as a result of a collaboration between the social change group ‘We are what we do’ and designer Anya Hindmarch as a way to encourage people to re-use bags rather than always accepting plastic carrier bags for their shopping. (Read the headlines and see the bag.)

It is reckoned that the average person in the UK throws away 167 plastic bags each year. I expect that my record was worse than that. The weekly supermarket shop would have used up a fair few bags on its own. Then there would be weekend shopping for clothes, jewellery, toiletries, stationery…Although I kept the bags and re-used them for bin liners, how much better would it have been for me to not have them in the first place? So, I am definitely not one to preach. However, since coming to Germany my habits have changed. I always carry a couple of lightweight cotton grocery bags in my handbag so that I can use them for shopping. Why has my attitude changed?

• It saves money: supermarkets in Germany charge for each plastic bag used
• To fit in: everyone brings their own bags and it’s frowned upon not to
• It feels good: now I have got into the habit of bringing my own bags with me, I do feel like I am helping to make a small difference in some way

You know what? The other day I was so bored (waiting for the baby who has as yet not asked to be born – something which it will probably tell me itself when it turns 13) that I decided to use up some scraps of fabric and I whipped up my own ‘designer’ bag.

Here it is, very prettily modelled by my husband. (He has a responsible day job, you know.)