Canvas bag overload (From Croydon Guardian)

Canvas bag overload

2:49pm Tuesday 15th July 2008

• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

By Pete Truman »

I've had a terrible vision of the future where the human race is on the verge of extinction.

It's not from carbon emissions but from the ultimate terror - bags.

But wait, I am not talking of the scourge of the modern day eco-warrior, the plastic bag, but instead the canvas bag.

The trouble, you see, is that the environment has become cool. My girlfriend recently purchased a copy of Marie Claire which was boasting a green, eco-friendly fashion special. All the politicians want to sound the greenest, and all the companies want you to give them money because they do their bit for the planet.

Only most of it is a load of rubbish. I can't sit here and say their efforts are totally futile and worthless. But in reality a major shift has to occur and for that to happen the whole model for business will probably have to change as it is very hard to see how capitalism and environmentalism can be combined into one happy partnership.

But back to bags. Why bags? Well because it would appear EVERYBODY has jumped on the canvas bag bandwagon. You cannot move for companies, individuals, charities, schools and god knows who else giving/selling/forcing canvas bags upon your person. Finally the outrage that is plastic bags will be vanquished forever. But what happens when this green fashion trend peters out. When scientists discover either a way of stopping climate change, or tell us we've missed the boat, the world is irreversibly damaged and we best all save our pennies for one of Richard Branson's flights to the moon?

The original greens, the real eco-warriors who don't live in Chelsea owning a Prius, feeding chickens in their garden and only buying fair trade, will continue their fight. But the rest of us will find something new and exciting (remember the apocalyptic Millennium bug, or SARS, or CFCs?)

And then we look around our house and see a multitude of canvas bags – far more than we possibly need. Of course we can always recycle them, being cloth, but think of the carbon footprint to create them all only for them to be boiled down and reformed once more into some new fashion trend.

No-one can doubt we must act on the environment but let's not just jump on a careering bandwagon. Why not truly think about ways we can make a difference, through innovation and desire, instead of flaunting a limited edition canvas bag designed by someone or other.