Supermarket shopping bags have been the subject of EU rulings for years - but this week a major supermarket has launched a bag that is truly ‘sustainable’ and it’s all down to the humble sheep and home-grown British Wool.
Waitrose, already known for its support of British farmers have backed British Wool licensee and wool entrepreneur Kim Stead with her innovative and highly stylish re-usable 100% British Wool shopping bag. Kim, owner of twool is passionate about the fibre - having started her small business with what she describes as a ‘light-bulb moment’ venture into producing wool twine for use in the garden.
This new concept, the twool wool bag, has been a major investment for Dartmoor based Kim - she has spent three years developing a robust bag that will provide a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to carrier bags.
‘We’ve used the latest cloth finishing technology, to ensure these bags are waterproof and long-lasting for shoppers to be able to use time and time again. We’ve used fully traceable wool from our local Devon sheep making these bags a beacon of British rural craftsmanship. We’ve worked closely with a Devon based textile designer and manufacturer, and use specialised spinning methods in Bradford - all of which have produced a practical, versatile product of which we are very proud.’
‘The finish on the bag is amazing, we wanted to make it fire-retardant and stain-proof without a big chemical process. It’s the most up-to-the-minute technology called “laser plasma technology”. It only became available this year in the UK, which laser-treats the cloth by firing inert gases at it. It uses no chemicals but makes the cloth water repellent, fire retardant and stain resistant.’
The project has been fully supported by the British Wool Marketing Board, the organisation which promotes and sells British Wool on behalf of their 50,000 sheep farmers.
“It was clear from the start Kim had a great idea and wanted to make it happen. We are always happy to give advice and support on our wool and it’s brilliant that the end result of our many conversations has been this very smart bag.” Tim Booth, marketing manager at BWMB said.
The bag, available in two sizes, was launched in to three Waitrose London stores this week and as an added origin story, has a unique identity number and the name of the store it was bought from on each bag.
