Environmental campaigners have been wanting us to reduce the number of plastic bags we use for decades, and for good reason. They clog up landfill sites and waterways, animals confuse them for food, choking and poisoning them, and dozens more environmental concerns. The problem with plastic bags is that they don’t degrade. The pollution they cause is having catastrophic results for our marine life. 

National bans were set in motion in Bangladesh back in 2002, but it took until 2015 for the ban on plastic shopping bags to be instigated in Britain. Since then, 15 billion plastic bags have been taken out of circulation, an 86% fall in single plastic bag use.

Reusable bags for life are a step forward in the fight against waste, pollution and marine life endangerment. But what about the untold quantities of plastic bags that are already in circulation, loitering at the back of people’s cupboards?

At Saturday’s Child we are embracing the concept of re-purposing existing items, starting with the root of the issue, the plastic bag. Only items that exist are used for our project and we are excited to show you prototypes of our true Bag For Life.

This “plastic bag bag” is made from around 25 regular supermarket carrier bags. The handles and the bottom seam are cut off, then the remaining bag is cut in a spiral to make one long strip about one and a half inches wide.

It is then knitted on large needles, joining each strip as one goes. It is surprisingly uncomplicated for even the most novice knitter.

So there we have it, an existing product, something that would otherwise go to landfill or endanger our marine life, re-used and re-purposed, combined with a traditional handcraft to create something all the more substantial, modern and relevant in todays society.