After the first phase launch of the 'I'm not a plastic bag' re-usable shopper, anyone who joined our mailing list has been offered the opportunity to buy one of the new bags (in navy blue, green or charcoal grey). Luckily for you, the deadline has passed and some subscribers have not placed an order. So while stocks lasts you can order one in our shop. Remember only one bag can be purchased per customer and we regret that the bag colour cannot be specified. The price of the new, set package is £16.49 (£16.49+PP+VAT - £21.78). This price includes a copy of our latest book 'Change the World 9 to 5' (retail £8.99), trackable courier delivery. A signature will be required when the package is delivered and we regret we can only deliver to mainland UK.
Click here to order now but make sure you read the FAQ below first.
I managed to get on to the online shop but I am not sure if my order was successful?
If you have received a confirmation e-mail from both WorldPay and We Are What We Do your order has been successful. If you are still unsure, please contact orders@wearewhatwedo.com.
I've bought a bag, when will it arrive?
You should get your bag within 4-6 weeks from placing your order although it could arrive much earlier than that. Under normal circumstances we would aim to ship any orders out on the next working day. However, due to the sheer volumes of sales, we are unable to offer this service for delivery of the bag. If you are unhappy with this and would like to cancel your order and get a refund this please e-mail us at orders@wearewhatwedo.com with the confirmation e-mail from WorldPay and that instruction.
Why do you only have a courier option for delivery?
Why is there not a cheaper option? We are only offering a courier option so that we can limit the number of orders getting lost. Each order can be tracked by City Link. We are using the most economical courier costs available to us.
I know the bag will require a signature when it arrives, can you tell me exactly when to expect it so I make sure I am in?
At least one day before your order is ready to be delivered you will be sent an e-mail letting you know when to expect the bag. Please note that deliveries are made Monday to Friday. It might be worth making your delivery address a work address to ensure there's someone there to sign for the package. City Link will attempt delivery twice, but subsequent attempts will be charged for.
Do I have to sign for it personally?
No, the delivery can be signed for by anyone at your delivery address. If there is no-one to sign for the delivery you will be left a card by the courier (City Link) who you can then contact to re-arrange a more convenient delivery time.
Are any further brown UK I'm Not A Plastic Bags planned?
At this present time no more brown bags are planned.
Why are there no more UK (brown) bags available to buy?
When we started working on this project two years ago we had no idea that there would be so much demand for this bag. We did not anticipate these bags selling out so quickly in the UK. The limited edition nature of this bag is relative. 30,000 brown bags were produced for the initial launch of the project - Anya Hindmarch commissioned 5,000 of these as did We Are What We Do. All of these bags have now sold out. Sainsbury's sold a further 20,000 in a selection of their stores in April 2007. A 30,000 run of bags far outstrips the volume of bags ordinarily produced for a normal Anya Hindmarch bag. It was important that we kept a balance between accessibility and desirability in order to raise awareness around the issue. The initial run, a collaborative project between the three organisations, was also planned before anyone knew how popular the bags would be.
Why are you not remaking more brown bags for the UK?
This project was only ever intended to be a limited edition project. There will be further limited edition launches (of green, navy and grey bags) in other countries this summer and We Are What We Do will be selling a number of each of the new colours to UK mainland customers through our web shop.
I don't live in the UK Mainland and I am disappointed that I can't buy a bag. Why don't you ship the bags elsewhere from your website?
This is largely because we have opted to use a courier service to deliver the bags (for the aforementioned reasons). Our online shop is able to take orders from mainland UK however it would require further programming (and budget) for our site to be able to take orders and for us to offer a courier service outside the UK. We regret that presently we do not have the resources to do this.
Following the huge excitement surrounding the launch of I'm Not A Plastic Bag in the UK a limited edition version of this bag with navy blue lettering in the US was launched on June 20th.
The bag was available from all US Anya Hindmarch stores, Ron Herman and Fred Segal Flair for just $15. Due to overwhelming demand purchases were limited to two bags per customer.
The bag was also available from Holt Renfrew in Canada for $18 (Canadian dollars). Purchases were limited to 10 bags per customer.
From July 18th I'm Not A Plastic Bag was available to buy from the following East Coast Whole Foods Market stores:
95 Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
250 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001
The Shops at Columbus Circle, 10 Columbus Circle, Suite SC101, New York, NY 10019
905 River Road, Edgewater, NJ, 07020
90 e. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 429 North Broadway, Jericho, NY 11753
222 Min Street, Madison, NJ 07940 2101 Northern Boulevard, Munsey Park, NY 11030
471 Rte. 35 North, Red Bank, NJ 07701 187Millburn Avenue, Millburn, NJ 07041
701 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042 44 Godwin Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
4 Union Square South, New York, NY 10003 110 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, NY 10605
235 Prospect Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052
Which other countries will be launching I'm Not A Plastic Bag next?
A cream bag with green lettering was launched in Japan on July 14th. These bags were available through Anya Hindmarch stores in Japan, Isetan and Dover Street Market Tokyo.
A cream bag with grey lettering was launched in July through Anya Hindmarch stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Beijing. It will also be available through On Pedder stores in Jakarta, Bangkok and Shanghai.
Brown Thomas in Ireland and Corso Como in Milan will also be stocking a small number of the brown version of the bag in July.
Why is this new bag a different price to the original brown bag?
We have been overwhelmed by the world's response to this project and inundated with requests to take this bag available to a wider international audience. The UK bag was priced at £5. This price meant that We Are What We Do, Anya Hindmarch and all launch partners have not been covering their costs. In spite of our unrelenting collective enthusiasm to generate awareness around the use of plastic bags, this is unsustainable for all partners involved.
In order to launch the bag more widely & internationally, we had to find a price point that helped us to start covering costs. The price for the next launches therefore, will be £7.50.
We hope that you agree that this remains an amazing price for this bag. We also hope that the international launches will spark the same awareness and debate that we have provoked in the UK and encourage people to reuse, reduce and recycle!
What was the bag designed for?
I'm Not A Plastic Bag is a reusable bag that can be used for shopping, the gym, the beach, school etc. We are trying to use our influence in a positive way to make it fashionable not to use plastic bags, to raise awareness of this issue and to encourage people to make small changes in their behaviour.
How can I keep my bag clean?
Please brush your bag gently with a soft brush to remove everyday dust. Some people have hand washed their bags and this does seem to work but please do so with caution. We would advise spot cleaning with warm water and a gentle soap.
Where was this bag made?
I'm Not A Plastic Bag is made in China. We have worked with a reputable supplier there whose workers are paid double the minimum wage and who complies with all aspects of Chinese Labour Law. The factory also retains external consultants to monitor it from an international standards standpoint.
How environmentally friendly is this bag?
I'm Not A Plastic Bag came about because we wanted to use our influence in a positive way to make it fashionable not to use plastic bags. The bag is a stylish, practical reusable alternative that we hoped would raise awareness of the issue of wasted packaging and spark debate. 'I'm Not A Plastic Bag came about because we wanted to use our influence in a positive way to make it fashionable not to use plastic bags. The bag is a stylish, practical reusable alternative that we hoped would raise awareness of the issue of wasted packaging and spark debate.
We have shipped the bags by sea and carbon offset our production and freight through the purchase of carbon credits.
How do you feel about customers just buying I'm Not A Plastic Bag because they just want an Anya Hindmarch product for very little money?
It is inevitable that some customers are attracted to this product because it is an Anya Hindmarch Bag for a low price point. Our view is that whatever the reason is for customers carrying this bag they are still conveying an important message. The bag is designed to be a practical and stylish alternative to plastic bags that we hope that customers will reuse. It is surprising how many plastic bags you start to refuse on your daily shopping trips when you are carrying a reusable bag and surprising how many people are influenced by the walking billboard that is our bag!
What changes has this bag led to?
To date this project has raised a great deal of awareness over the wasted use of plastic bags around the world. It has also contributed to Sainsbury's banning plastic bags from their stores for two days on Friday April 27th and Tuesday May 29th during which time, they gave away over £700,000 worth of bags for life (reusable bags) to their customers. On the launch day of 'I'm not a plastic bag' in Sainsbury's, both Tesco & Waitrose took out full page adverts to proclaim their plastic bag policies. So we think we have managed to stir up some reactions from major organisations. Having created this awareness it is now up to the consumer to try to reduce, reuse and recycle. We hope that this debate will continue and that this project will at the very least make people stop and think.
What do we think about the bags re-selling on eBay for inflated prices?
At first we were upset when the bags appeared on eBay but then we realised that this is to be expected when there is so little stock and so much demand. This has led to greater awareness which was the purpose of this project. Unfortunately we have no control over bags appearing on eBay. Please note that this bag is not a charity project so charities are not losing out.
So, you've sold your bags, what's next for We Are What We Do?
You've heard about the bag but you also might like to know that we are running a campaign to try and discourage people from using plastic bags. We are launching our very own 'Plastic ain't my bag' campaign at the end of May. We want retailers and shoppers alike to join us in saying 'enough is enough' to plastic bags. To find out more about how you can get involved in our campaign just click here.
This is only one of many exciting initiatives we are working on at the moment, if you are interested to know more please take a look around our website or
click here to order your bag now.
Read more ...
Phew! So far, 2010 has been a busy year for us and we can hardly believe we've already sent our valentine's and consumed our pancakes. 
Our refillable notepad will help you do Action 046: Use both sides of every piece of paper - once you've finished with our off-cuts, insert your own. And these diaries come in week to view with a simple action to tick off your to do list each week. 
