A bag is not only for Christmas…
Marie Claire partners with We Are What We Do to launch the
Plastic Ain't My Bag shopper
"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
On 31st October 2007 Marie Claire magazine will be launching the Plastic Ain't My Bag shopper, free with the December issue, supporting We Are What We Do's campaign to make this year a plastic bag free Christmas. With December being the busiest shopping month, Marie Claire's partnership with the social change movement, (which aims to inspire people to use their everyday actions to change the world) has produced an organic cotton shopper that is the perfect accessory, sturdy enough for all your Christmas shopping.
The We Are What We Do message of small actions x lots of people = BIG change is something that fits with Marie Claire's long support of environmental, ethical and social issues.
David Robinson of We Are What We Do says: 'The opportunity to partner with Marie Claire is yet another way for us to spread our message about small actions x lots of people = BIG change. This Plastic Ain't My Bag shopper (inspired by our first action 'Decline plastic bags whenever possible') is a fantastic way to raise the profile of our campaign.. 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. We're fast approaching a point where it is about as fashionable to carry plastic as it is to wear fur and if every Marie Claire reader takes this free shopper out onto the streets to spread the message while doing their Christmas shopping this year, we'll have made a tremendous leap towards reaching that point ."
Marie O'Riordan, Editor of Marie Claire magazine says ""We are especially pleased to join forces with We Are What We Do for our gift this month. Marie Claire readers have always led the way on thoughtful consumerism and this beautiful tote is a stylish solution to an ugly problem. By flaunting the bag whenever they shop, our readers will be joining the campaign to end the evil of the plastic carrier."
Do keep an eye out for the 'Plastic Ain't My Bag' logo in the windows of participating retailers, such as the Virgin Megastores, the Dermalogica salons, Sainsbury's, Debenhams, Melrose and Morgan, Queen's Park Books, Kennards Good Foods, Something and French's Dairy, who are all supporting the campaign.
To find out more about We Are What We Do and the Plastic Ain't My Bag campaign, log on to www.wearewhatwedo.org/plasticaintmybag and www.marieclaire.co.uk
Editors notes:
Marie Claire:
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 in partnership with the DCFS launches on 15 October and a range of exciting partnerships such as the forthcoming Virgin Atlantic collaboration.
The Plastic Ain't My Bag identity was developed by ideas agency Antidote.
*Source – DEFRA
If you're a retailer, We Are What We Do has created a simple clear window vinyl for you to put up in your shop window based on the distinctive 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 www.wearewhatwedo.org/plasticaintmybag
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 the Plastic Ain't My Bag campaign or which have demonstrated a commitment to reducing bags and other forms of packaging and spreading the word about the campaign to shops in your local area.
Ends
For further information please contact
Kaye Woodhouse, Head of PR on 0203 148 7683
or kaye_woodhouse@ipcmedia.com