An ethical bag
From the UK
This Is Money:
Exposed: 'I'm not an ethical bag'
The 'I'm not a plastic bag' bag is a must-have fashion item and 20,000 sold out within an hour at Sainsbury's. Women queued from 3am to get one of the £5 cotton bags made by leading designer Anya Hindmarch and they are changing hands on eBay for £225.
Today Sainsbury's was accused of hypocrisy after it admitted the bag was made in China and was neither organic nor fair trade.
The chairman of an influential Commons committee said Sainsbury's had 'tarnished' its image as a promoter of fair trade products.
A campaign group which highlights the exploitation of workers in the fashion industry said making the bag in China dented the bag's ethical claims.
And the fact that the bags have been sent thousands of miles from China raised questions about whether its carbon footprint is threatening to offset its environmental benefits. A spokeswoman for the supermarket chain conceded the bag, billed as 'making a difference to the world', was 'not perfect' while refusing to say in which factory the bag is made.
A bit of egg-on-face for Sainsbury's -- memo to self, it is always best to walk the walk when taking the moral high ground. Something The Goracle, Cheryl Crowe and others would benefit by learning...
Posted by DaveH at April 28, 2007 5:22 PM