Comments on: I'm not organic or fair trade either, mate

I'm not organic or fair trade either, mate

parmanparman — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:21:05 -0800

Exposed: I'm not a plastic bag! Queues this week have gone around the block for a designer cotton bag designed by Anya Hindmarch available at Sainsbury's, the British grocer. The bag, which was designed to raise awareness of fair trade and ethical issues, was actually mass produced by sweatshop labor in China and is neither fair trade nor organic. Bags are selling for as much at $200 on Ebay. Anya Hindmarch herself has not apologized for the bag, saying: "We will be launching I'm Not A Plastic Bag in the US in June (in a limited edition navy blue) and in Japan in July (in a limited edition bottle green)."

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:31:55 -0800

I'm just a pathetic fad!

By: flippant

flippant — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:34:09 -0800

Oh, the hypocrisy of it all.

By: tula

tula — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:36:16 -0800

The bags will be an easy way of identifying the not-too-bright among the well meaning. Plus, aren't they awfully ugly?

By: Justinian

Justinian — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:36:36 -0800

Shouldn't the metric be how the wages compare to other jobs in China and not how they compare to wages in England? Or am I being a tool of the kleptocracy?

By: Flashman

Flashman — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:38:41 -0800

What kuujjuarapik said, plus this was in the Guardian today too.

By: Aloysius Bear

Aloysius Bear — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:39:32 -0800

How odd. What would the workers in China be doing if not employed by Sainsbury's making bags? Presumably, either working for less money or not working at all.

By: everichon

everichon — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:41:03 -0800

At my Coop they are marketed as "Happy Sacks". Only they are just canvas totes, not designed by Anya Hindmarch.

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:43:58 -0800

posted by Aloysius Bear at 10:39 PM

How odd. What would the workers in China be doing if not employed by Sainsbury's making bags? Presumably, either working for less money or not working at all.

Now that's irony, folks!

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:45:12 -0800

I see stupid, but I sure don't see irony.

By: parmanparman

parmanparman — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:45:35 -0800

everichon! You're in Ashland? I graduated from Southern Oregon University. I miss Ashland so much.

By: stereo

stereo — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:47:05 -0800

So, how much more energy does producing one cotton bag take anyway?

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:49:01 -0800

Anybody have any information on the pressure group? They were a bit of a challenge to Google. I wouldn't be surprised if they were either an UK textile industry marketing group or a branch of some UK labor union. Their concern might not be entirely with the welfare of Chinese workers....

By: everichon

everichon — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:50:33 -0800

I graduated from Southern Oregon University. I miss Ashland so much. Hey, cool! Small interweb. Ashland is an sweet little town.

By: chrismear

chrismear — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:51:01 -0800

Once again, what is the hypocrisy here? The bag is designed to raise awareness of environmental issues, which are separate from ethical trading issues, even if the two are often found together in the brains of freewheeling hippies. Next they'll be complaining that this bag doesn't stop AIDS in Africa.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:52:54 -0800

Aren't they sort of bulky? A weeks groceries for use is typically 10-12 bags, I can't see dragging a dozen of those things to the supermarket each time.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:53:08 -0800

What a bombastic hag.

By: everichon

everichon — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:56:02 -0800

I will say that non-plastic bags are somewhat harder to convert into witches knickers.

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:58:02 -0800

posted by Pope Guilty at 10:45 PM

I see stupid, but I sure don't see irony.

That was my first reaction. But the it occured to me that no one can miss a point so obvious, especially when it's fat, ugly and dressed in a cotton clown costume. So I figured that it was - double (atleast!) - irony.

By: Firas

Firas — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:58:54 -0800

Yeah, I don't see the huge problem here. The bags were priced at just 5 pounds each. They're meant to suggest via the designer allure that using cloth bags is a good thing. Sure the campaign could do better in terms of trade ethics/organic materials etc. and the transport costs but it's not some huge font of hypocrisy spraying across the moral fibre of the country here. I'd suggest the transportation issue regarding the carbon footprint is a stray issue of sorts; this was transported with a lot of other goods most probably. My basic point is that I'm more irritated at the Evening Standard here for pretending they have some huge coup on their hands than at Sainsbury's for not completely thinking this thing through.

By: Firas

Firas — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:59:43 -0800

Also, this sort of journalism is so quintessentially British.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:00:34 -0800

Foci for Analysis writes "That was my first reaction. But the it occured to me that no one can miss a point so obvious, especially when it's fat, ugly and dressed in a cotton clown costume. So I figured that it was - double (atleast!) - irony." So is it stupid for Chinese people to have jobs, or just for them to have jobs outside of the agricultural sector?

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:07:47 -0800

posted by mr_roboto at 11:00 PM on April 27 [+] [!]

So is it stupid for Chinese people to have jobs, or just for them to have jobs outside of the agricultural sector?

Hah, I'm surprised you stopped there. You're sure that I didn't vote for killing the kittens, too? I think you can do better than this. Please, don't prove me wrong.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:15:30 -0800

You're still not making any sense, man. But you're clearly angry. Which is cool; I'm down with the unfocused rage thing.

By: inoculatedcities

inoculatedcities — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:22:08 -0800

I for one thing that Chinese people should definitely not have any jobs at all. But I mean it in the Bob Black sense of not having a job, not in a suffering sense.

By: geoff.

geoff. — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:26:51 -0800

The question of whether having the Chinese employed or not is a false dichotomy. Many companies are trying to be ethical about Chinese labor (Nokia comes to mind) by sending representatives to the plant to ensure humane conditions (which itself is a subjective concept, but there are some things pretty much everyone can agree upon). The idea is that the labor put in by the workers is so asymmetric to the profits had from the labor that it is deemed exploitive. Many of the factories force abortions (that is go back to your rice paddy or get an abortion), make their workers stay in small concrete dorms and have lunch/dinner practices that reminds one of Oliver Twist. Indeed this is hardly a new problem when countries industrialize. England, the United States and pretty much every major country faced exploitation by the capital classes. The difference is that now we know that (1) industrialization leads to a better quality of life, health and creating a middle class, (2) industrialization has the potential of creating deplorable conditions in the interim and taking advantage of a group of people to the point of exploitation. Of course with knowing those two points we should want to industrialize the Western world, but that doesn't mean we have to repeat the sins of the past. I think if anyone looked at the income distribution they would see a power law that is rather dramatic. Just because we can exploit a people does not mean we should. Of course the Chinese government is just as much a problem, etc. but that's an entire issue all together from Western companies doing what the Western world has done since Columbus.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:30:10 -0800

As the ecobandwagon gathers speed, profiteers jump on--film at 11. In other news, the carbon credits "industry" is full of con artists and scams. Almost as if there were, y'know, suckers there to be fleeced.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:32:56 -0800

geoff. writes "Many companies are trying to be ethical about Chinese labor (Nokia comes to mind) by sending representatives to the plant to ensure humane conditions (which itself is a subjective concept, but there are some things pretty much everyone can agree upon). " According to the article, the bag manufacturer did this. The pressure group is complaining not about specific conditions in a factory, but about the average wages paid to Chinese factory workers, translated into British currency and unadjusted for purchasing power.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:47:37 -0800

The reverse side of the bag is even more controversial.

By: breakfast_yeti

breakfast_yeti — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:55:24 -0800

conspicuous compassion.

By: scruss

scruss — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:58:46 -0800

I was on Spadina (Toronto) today, and I'm pretty sure I saw knockoffs of these on sale for less than $5. octothorpe, as you don't need to double-bag, and cloth bags tend to be a bit bigger than your average supermarket placcy bag, I find I get away with 1/3 to 1/2 the number of reusable bags as compared to plastic.

By: everichon

everichon — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:29:07 -0800

I find they tend to accumulate in the same way that coat hangers do, such that we now have a bunch of them. So we have them in the car, and at home, and I also use one for my "briefcase"-- holds a big laptop, an organizer, and then lots of assorted crap. And all for < $5.00.

By: dvdgee

dvdgee — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:45:27 -0800

An enterprising friend of mine is capitalizing on the inevitable backlash against these things: Get yours now!

By: porpoise

porpoise — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:48:12 -0800

These bags are ugly and it's like those stupid yellow (or whatever colour) plastic wristbands. er, what breakfast_yeti said. That said, lots of stores around the city in which I reside have been selling canvas tote bags of various colours/patterns/sizes as reusable grocery bags for years - at least since I left for college in '96 and iirc quite a few more years before. Personally, I decline plastic bags if I can fit my purchase into my wrinkled black leather manbag/messenger bag, if I have it with me (which is most of the time if I'm shopping after/before going to work). upon seeing weapons_grade_pandemonium's like - gah. These bags ~~flookin'~~ smurfing SUCK. gah.

By: porpoise

porpoise — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:49:17 -0800

~~like~~ link

By: Jilder

Jilder — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:29:14 -0800

They are some ugly, ugly bags. At least our green bags aren't trying to be trendy. And I can carry a week's worth of groceries in only four of the bastards. Win!

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:59:57 -0800

I must confess to a bit of photoshopping there, porpoise.