Woolworths releases new 'designer' shopping bag

Whilst the price might seem steep, there's an excellent reason for it.

Gone are the days where people are complaining about paying 10c for a paper bag at the supermarket (well, mostly). Reusable bags, in whatever form they come, are well and truly the norm.

So, Woolworths has upped the ante with a brand new, high-end bag - with an eye-watering price tag to match.

How much would you pay?

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Image: Supplied.

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A brand new bag

Woolworths has officially announced the launch of a brand new shopping bag to their ranks, and it’s kind of a big deal.

The bag was manufactured by the Solent Group, and was designed in collaboration with Anya Hindmarch - a luxury accessories brand founded in 1987.

Having always had a focus on the environment, the brand launched the Universal Bag in 2021 - their most ambitious sustainability project to date.

The project is open to all food retailers globally, and allows each partner to customise and collaborate on their own exclusive version of the Universal Bag to match their brand.

Collaborators include brands like Whole Foods Market, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s in the UK, Fusion and City’Super in Hong Kong, Little Farm and FairPrice Finest in Singapore, and National Azabu and Seijo Ishii in Japan.

Now, it’s being brought to Australia.

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The Universal Bag comes to Australia

The project was brought to Australia off the back of a study announcing that Australia, despite our domestic use of single-use plastics dropping by 90% since 2016/2017, still produces 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually.

According to Anya Hindmarch, Founder and Creative Director, bringing the project here will be a game changer.

“The Universal Bag project has saved over 230 tonnes of virgin plastic from landfill to date, the equivalent weight of over 19 London double-decker buses,” she said.

“Plastic pollution remains a pressing environmental issue but working together with major global food retailers shows how the solution needs to be collaborative.”

Ashley Symonds, CEO Solent, agreed with the sentiment.

“Both Anya and Solent have a shared heritage in creating and producing market-disrupting initiatives that help customers to lead healthier and more sustainable lives,” she said.

“We are delighted to have partnered with Anya and her team on the Universal Bag which further supports the reduction and need for single-use plastics. The Universal Bag is a beautiful and high-performing product that encourages customers to buy into reusability and sustainability; it’s not a bag you’d ever feel comfortable throwing in the bin.

“Given the durability of the bag, ideally, it will never need to be recycled but, if it does, we have made it easy for the customer to get it back into the recycling stream – a process that has never been done before. The Universal Bag is a true market first and another step change in our mission to end single-use plastic bag usage for one and for all.”

It costs how much???

Unlike their paper alternatives, this bag will set you back a whopping $20.

If you’re looking at this price tag, and thinking ‘no way’, just know that there’s a lot of good going into one of these bags.

The bag is made from 100% recycled plastic and is guaranteed to last at least 10 years, having been extensively tested for durability.

Each step and material used in making the bag is also fully certified under the Global Recycling Scheme (GRS), making it a truly 100% recycled product.

If you are interested, the bags are available now at 600 stores across the country, and many shoppers are already on board.

"I’ll definitely be getting a couple," said one commenter on TikTok.

"It actually looks a decent size too," another said.

"$20 for an Anya Hindmarch bag is a steal," a third person said.

But, if that still doesn’t sell you, there’s no shame in sticking with the classic paper.

Originally published as Woolworths releases new 'designer' shopping bag