Victorian Evening
We took our stand outside Millets for the Victorian Evening once again in November this year. We were very impressed by the reduction in the number of plastic bags we saw in the town. So many people now carry their own bags. Well down Chesham!
The ladies of the Mors Pod had made a fine job of producing bags from donated materials. We were able to give these out to shoppers with a collection of items in their hands. They were gratefully received.
National Plastic Bag Free Day
The 12th September 2009 saw the CarryAbag team in town in support of the National Plastic Bag Free day.
We were very pleased to have the support of our Lady Mayor, Cllr Justine Fulford, who helped the day by giving out Morsbags to shoppers in the market.
Across the UK over 100 towns were taking part. There is something quite powerful about knowing you are part of a network of volunteers all working for the same cause.
Some of these towns were just starting their campaign, other's, like us, have been around for a year or so and, also like us, noticed an amazing reduction in the number of plastic bags seen in the town.
The message is getting through and people are now far more aware of the environmental damage that can be caused by single use 'disposable' bags. We look forward to the day when they are no longer an option.
In the mean time, thank you to all who visited our stand and tried our tombola or bought a bag. We know that some of our bags are going around the world!
We are very grateful to all the shops who supported us by donating Tombola prizes: Healthright, Oxfam, Lucia's Delicatessen, Starbucks, Waitrose, Sainsbury's.
Hazeldene Farm
Open Day
On Sunday 6th September, we shared a stand with Chesham in Transition as part of the Hazeldene Farm Open Day.
Here's (a rare photo of) Donna on the stand showing how beautifully sunny it was:>)
Several people chatted with us about the campaign and our thanks to all who showed support for the cause.
Sainsbury's Stand
On May 9th, we were outside Sainsbury's encouraging the shoppers to 'try something new' and carry their own shopping bags!
We set up our gazebo in the car park to discuss the reasons behind the campaign and why we want to make Chesham a Plastic Bag Free town.
Our thanks to Julie White in PR for helping us in this venture and to store manager, Mark Jacklin, for letting us promote the campaign.
Fairtade Fortnight - The Fashion Show
We were very proud to see our PBFC bag featured in the Fairtrade Fashion Show at Elgiva on 5th March. Our thanks to Clem Short who conceived of, designed and produced this year's 'must have' dress. Made of fair trade organic cotton it stole the scene!
We all enjoyed a really good evening organised by the Chesham Fair Trade Group. It was both thought provoking and entertaining.
Pictured here is the final set along with Gabby and Russell in Clem's fabulous creations.
Victorian Evening
The PBFC Gazebo made another appearance in town at the Victorian Evening on 28th November. A crisp and frost nipped night it was but we kept warm chatting with everyone passing by. Well, maybe not quite everyone, for the townsfolk were out in huge numbers making it a great evening.
If you found yourself being 'bounced at', it was probably by Donna with a Morsbag! The Morspod has been working hard to make more bags for Chesham and we were very happy to give them out during the evening (see Morspod). A big thankyou to everyone we accosted for being such good sports.
Phase 1 Launch Day
September 20th 2008 saw the CarryAbag team in Chesham Market Square. It was a beautifully hot day, one of the last of summer and we were well supported by the people of Chesham. The day was ably assisted by our Mayor and Town Crier and, of course, "The Ladies of the Morspod in a room in Blue Haze Arts and Crafts, are still making bags." Altogether...
Launch Day Morspod
As part of the festivities, Blue Haze Arts and Craft set up a Morspod. We had some wonderful volunteers who did a great job all day providing shoppers with free shopping bags made out of donated material. The pod will continue to make bags for shoppers and we will be handing them out at future events.
The New Chesham Bag
We are pleased to announce that the new Chesham bag is about to become available in shops in Chesham. You can also order it here on the website.
The bags were supplied by Bishopston Trading Company who specialise in Fair Trade goods.
Our bags are made in South India and Bishopston TC sent us this photo of them being printed.
You will be able to buy these bags from our stall in Market Square on 20th September.
Morsbag Pod
CALLING ALL SEAMSTRESSES !
And, of course, any seamstressers that may be around.
Join the Chesham Mors Pod that will be creating carrier bags out of cloth remnants at Blue Haze on the 20th September as part of the PBFC launch. Find out more about Mors Bags or pop into Blue Haze.
We are looking for volunteers to keep this event going all day and also for sewing machines and suitable cloth (bedspreads, throws, curtains,, etc) to turn into Mors Bags.
Launch Date Confirmed
Saturday 20th September has now been confirmed as the launch of Plastic Bag Free Chesham. At least thirty shops are ready to come on board so please support them and us in town that day.
Cornstarch Bags
Cornstarch bags can now be seen in some shops in Chesham. These are a biodegradeable alternative to plastic but please remember - they should not be thrown away in the rubbish bin but can be reused for collecting vegetable waste can then be composted :>)
Phase I Launch
Now that bags and funds have been organised, we are hoping to launch Phase I in Chesham on Saturday 20th September, 2008. More details confirming this will be posted shortly.
Cotton Bags
We are currently completing our design for the Chesham cotton bag. We are very pleased to announce that we have been partnered by the Fairtrade group in this venture and the bag will be a celebration of Chesham's Fairtrade and Plastic Bag Free status.
Cornstarch Bags
Cornstach bags will soon be available in some of our local shops as an alternative to plastic bags. The Town Council took the decision to support the campaign and will be buying the bags for resale to the shops as part in Phase I of Chesham becoming a Plastic Bag Free Town! We are exceedingly grateful to them for this support.
More in Blog...
Waitrose open the Green Till
From 28th April, our local Waitrose will be offering anyone who goes shopping with your own bags a special checkout. Look for the Green Till signs. When you use this checkout you will not be offered a plastic carrier bag.
Sainsbury's "Take an Old Bag Shopping"
Right to Left: Store Manager Mark Jacklin, PR Manager Buddy Edwards and Kishy promote the campaign to encourage shoppers to re-use their carrier bags.
Supermarkets Support the Campaign
Both Waitrose and Sainsbury have given support to our campaign. This is fantastic for us as the larger chains have to agree their activities with their HQ so it is more difficult for them to take action. We really appreciate their endeavours for the cause and encourage everyone to support their activities.
Waitrose were very supportive of our recent meeting for Chesham retailers and also provided the buffet refreshments. They will be experimenting with a bag free checkout from the 28th April, so please give them your support and use this checkout.
Sainsbury's also came to the meeting and they are keen to encourage their customers to reuse bags wherever possible. They will be promoting this on Saturday 19th April in our local store, so make a special effort for them!
Selkirk Becomes Plastic Bag Free
Congratulatiuons to Selkirk! On 4th April they became the first town in Scotland to achieve this status. Of the town's 108 shops, over 96% of Selkirk’s traders are committed to a Plastic Bag Free town. More details are on their website.
Retailers Meeting
On Thursday 3rd April we will be holding a meeting of all Chesham retailers in the Council Chamber in the Town Hall.
There will be a short presentation of the plastic facts and the alternative options. Then the floor will be open for discussion.
The CarryAbag team are keen to support all retailers look for alternative solutions to the plastic carrier bag.
All shops in the town centre will have received a visit and personalised letter. If you are a Chesham retailer outside of the town centre who would like to attend please do so, we will be happy to hear from you :>)
The doors will be open from 17:30 for a 18:00 start. We appreciate this is the end of a busy day so we are pleased to be able to offer light refreshments courtesy of Waitrose.
If you have any queries please use our contact form or leave a message on our telephone line: 01442 200 015 and we will get back to you.
Please feel free to copy our .PDF file for distribution
PRESS RELEASE - FOR PUBLICATION
A group of local residents in Chesham have been inspired to take action to reduce the Town’s use of plastic bags. Following the example of Modbury in Devon, who were the first town in Europe to become plastic bag free, Chesham residents Donna Forbes, Sally Blackman and Julia Brammer have formed a group called ‘CarryAbag’ to raise awareness of the effects of plastic bags on the environment and to encourage the use of alternative shopping bags.
Julia Brammer, who initiated the group, expresses her concern “With alternative bags often readily and cheaply available it does seem madness that we choose to keep using plastic bags even though they harm so many marine animals. I am really concerned about how our choices impact on our environment and feel inspired to do what I can to reduce this impact” CarryAbag will be highlighting the issues and offering a viable alternative to the plastic carrier bag.
- In the marine environment plastic bag litter is lethal, killing at least 100’000 birds, whales, seals, and turtles every year, through ingestion or choking as well as by becoming entangled in the plastic.
- After plastic bags kill an animal, its body decomposes but the plastic bag is released back into the environment where it can kill again.
- It is estimated that worldwide 1.2 trillion plastic bags are used each year. That averages about 300 bags for each adult annually or, 1 million bags per minute.
- On average we use each plastic bag for approximately 12 minutes before disposing of it. It can then last in the environment for centuries.
The team at CarryAbag are hoping that the people of Chesham will back their campaign and become the next Town to call itself ‘Plastic Bag Free’.
You can pledge your support to CarryAbag and learn more about their campaign by visiting their website www.PlasticBagFreeChesham.co.uk.
22nd October 2007
