"Every person in the country uses an average of 167 plastic bags every year. That's 10 billion bags all together*. A plastic bag takes up to 500 years to decay in landfill. There is an alternative. It's called a shopping bag."
From Change the World for a Fiver
We Are What We Do, the global social change movement behind the best selling book Change the World for a Fiver and the recent Anya Hindmarch I'm Not A Plastic Bag project, is launching its latest initiative - a campaign called Plastic Ain't My Bag.
The campaign, which will build on the heightened awareness achieved by the Anya Hindmarch collaboration, will enable shops and shoppers all around the country to play their part in bringing about an end to the wasteful use of plastic shopping bags and all forms of excessive packaging.
Both the bag and the related campaign are inspired by Action 1 - Decline Plastic Bags from Change the World for a Fiver. (There are a further 49 actions in the book upon which we will soon focus our attention!).
David Robinson, founder of We Are What We Do said: "The success of "I'm not a plastic bag" bodes really well for our campaign and we think it is a great opportunity for retailers and shoppers to demonstrate that we really do care about the damage we are doing to the environment as a result of some of our simplest every day actions."
And it couldn't be easier to get involved
If you're a retailer, we have created a simple clear window vinyl for you to put up in your shop window based on the distinctive the logo shown on this press release to indicate to shoppers that you will not automatically give them a plastic bag for their shopping (i.e. you will ask if they need one instead of automatically giving them one). To find out more and to purchase a Plastic Ain't My Bag window vinyl, visit our website (http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/).
The following retailers have already signed up to the campaign and are already proudly sporting window vinyls and other materials to show they are on board: Virgin Megastores (nationally), Foyles Bookshop, Konditor & Cook, Mish Mash, Queen's Park Books, Wenlock Books in Shropshire, Lambs Conduit Street: Kennards Good Foods, Something, French's Dairy, Folk; 2,000 Dermalogica salons around the country, Melrose & Morgan in Primrose Hill and Camden Lock market.
If you're a shopper, you can support the campaign by always remembering to take a carrier bag(s) with you when you're shopping, saying "no" when offered bags (of any kind) unless carrying your goods is highly impractical or deeply embarrassing, supporting those shops that have signed up to our campaign or which have demonstrated a commitment to reducing bags and other forms of packaging and spreading the word about our campaign to shops in your local area.
David Robinson said: "There is no doubt that the range of initiatives, of which ours is just one, are making a significant impact on the issue of plastic bag usage. Sainsbury's trialling "no bag days", Waitrose introducing "green tills" for people who have their own bags, paper bags in Primark, Superdrug asking customers if they really need a bag - something that has already brought about a 20% reduction in their bag usage -Tesco taking full page ads in the national press to promote their policies, an entire town in Devon giving up plastic bags and Virgin Megastore's nationally leading the charge in our new campaign. None of these things in and of themselves will result in an end to plastic bag usage, but each makes a significant contribution.
"Our aim with Plastic Ain't My Bag is to have a window vinyl in every window in every shop in every high street in the country by Christmas, and for this to be the first Christmas that it is about as fashionable to carry plastic as it is to wear fur."
To find out more or to order your Plastic Ain't My Bag materials, please visit http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/. The Plastic Ain't My Bag logo is available to download from our website,.
The Plastic Ain't My Bag campaign officially launches on Thursday 14 June at 10:30am at Dermalogica, Kensington, London. For further information about the event or the campaign, please contact: Sandra Deeble at Sandra.deeble@wearewhatwedo.org or on +44 (0) 207 396 7463.
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*Source - DEFRA
Editor's notes:
About We Are What We Do
We Are What We Do aims to inspire people to use simple everyday actions to change the world. The movement which was originated by the east London charity Community Links (www.community-links.org) was launched in September 2004 with the publication of the bestselling book Change the World for a Fiver. A sequel, Change the World 9 to 5 was published in September last year. The two books have now sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.
In addition to the book, We Are What We Do runs a community programme which is based in Newham which we plan to roll out nationally in the next 12 months; an education project for young people between the ages of 7-18 in partnership with the DfES which will launch in September this year and a range of exciting partnerships such as the forthcoming Virgin Atlantic extravaganza.
The Plastic Ain't My Bag identity was developed by ideas agency Antidote.
Further information can be found at http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/
The Plastic Ain't My Bag identity is available to download from http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/