John Lewis to sell bag made from 100% recycled plastic bottles

John Lewis and eco-friendly reusable bag company Jutexpo have joined forces with fashion designer Caroline Gardner to produce a new shopping bag made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.

The bags have a pineapple design and have been made using Jutexpo’s Halt process, which turns post-consumer plastic into a soft, durable fabric called rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate).

Each bag is made using 7.6 recycled plastic bottles and they are available in store and online for £8.

They are produced to the ‘Jutexpo Standard,’ a set of the 10 key elements Jutexpo considers to be the minimum when it comes to ethical and technical standards, awards and credentials.

Robbie McGregor, director of Jutexpo, said: ‘We are delighted to be supplying these wonderfully-designed bags which are encouraging shoppers to reduce their plastic bag use and help the environment.

‘By recycling post-consumer bottles to create innovative reusable bags, we are adding purpose to what would have otherwise been discarded as uncontrollable waste.’

In related news, Selfridges recently teamed up with Jutexpo to give customers clothes bags made using their plastic bottle production method.

They are now available in all Selfridges stores and the retailer expects the first six months of garment covers will result in more than 222,000 plastic bottles being recycled from post-consumer waste.

The issue of ‘fast fashion’ has become a major topic for consumers and legislators in recent months.

Last month, leading fashion retailers across the UK were accused of a ‘shocking’ lack of commitment towards environmental sustainability by a House of Commons committee.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) analysed sixteen UK fashion retailers (not including Selfridges), asking what they are doing to reduce the environmental and social impact of their businesses.

In an interim report, the EAC found several retailers to be trailing behind the rest of the fashion industry with JD Sports, Sports Direct, Amazon UK and Boohoo the worst offenders.