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Earth Day 2024 Plastic Vs Planet Turtle Bags began 20 years ago as a response to the plastic issue.  But what of “recycled plastic”? Should we be embracing this as the next sustainable material? The notion of recycled plastic has always made me feel uncomfortable. It is often offered up as a perfect product, has all the many beneficial properties of plastic, and it’s taking plastic out of the waste stream. What’s not to like? It’s a tempting argument. Today being Earth Day, it’s…

Are five French Euros the key to creating fair fashion?  As we celebrate International Womens Day this week, is there any cause for celebration for women textile workers in Bangladesh?    Are the moves afoot to change the way we do fashion hitting the mark?   Over the last two decades we have become increasingly aware of the high cost of fast fashion; The Rana Plaza disaster in Dhaka however in 2013 was a marker in the sand.  The world looked on in 2013 and saw the stark reality …. its…

It’s Fairbruary, a month of celebration of all things Fair Trade. This month’s blog shines a light on our partner producers in Bangladesh and their work in Women’s Empowerment. We love the way our Bangladeshi producers operate.  Their aim of empowering women is a continual process through a raft of approaches; entrepreneurship, village savings schemes, health and self defence form part of the integrated approach Since the early years, the mission of women’s empowerment has…

If you’re like me you will have enjoyed a warm glow when you drop your clothes off at the clothes bank.  There’s a virtuous warmth to be had in knowing that our clothes will have another life.  Every garment donated means less strain on the environment. I often think about the journey of each piece, from the store rack to the hands of someone in need. Sometimes I wonder if my old jacket might end up warming someone on a cold night, or if my outgrown jeans might become…

Turtle Bags has been supplying hand crafted jute products from our partner Women’s Empowerment Programme for more than 15 years. This is part of a fair trade supply chain, introduced to us by Traidcraft.   Thanks to their introduction we have established a wonderful partnership which has allowed us to bring their jute products to stores across Europe and beyond. It was fascinating to see, on my visit to the beautiful Barisal area in Bangladesh, the mountains of soft raw jute fibres…

Today marks the first day of Organic September when we celebrate all things grown organically, which includes the organic cotton we grow for our string bags. The GOTS (Global Organic Textile) mark on our bags means that the cotton has been grown without the help of synthetic chemicals, such as fertilisers and pesticides. The extent to which synthetic chemicals accumulate in our environment, moving between generations of animals and up the food chain, is only now beginning to be thoroughly…

Post-it, Velcro, Pyrex, Turtle Bags; we share something in common. As brands we have all become known for one particular product. Chatting to a group of Portuguese stores last week there was a realisation that after 20 years of trading that our wonderful string bags, our hero products, had finally come part of our everyday language. This particular customer had been delighted to find some ‘turtle bags” for their stores only to find that they weren’t!  They then were lucky enough to…

The Turtle Bag has always carried a message: Turtle Bags was set up to raise awareness of the hazards of plastic bags, over 20 years ago.  Our message explaining how turtles visiting UK waters pick up our plastic bags and most have plastic inside them, is the message we send out to the world with each bag. Early this week, I was delighted to be with my fellow BAFTs members at our annual conference and AGM. BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK is a network of independent shops and suppliers dedicated…

The energetic, spirited, bustling, creative Milan may not be the obvious place for discovering a more gentle way of living on our planet. During my visit to last weeks Design Week in Milan, I was met by a gathering of creative souls who are on a mission to do just this. After a beautiful journey by train from London through the Alps last week I arrived to be greeted by a wonderful display of innovative and sustainable design ideas at the Flourisalone: Milan’s Design Week. Changing the…