From 5 October 2015, as part of the government’s drive to reduce waste and protect the environment, it became law for large retailers in England, to charge customers a minimum of 5p for a carrier bag.

On the plus side, it is expected that once retailers have deducted reasonable costs, they’ll donate all the proceeds to good causes. However, the environmental damage caused by plastic bags is enormous and apart from the cost, it is in everyone’s interest to try and cut down their usage. More than eight billion disposable bags are used in England each year, or a staggering 130 per person. Environmental campaigners say the carriers, each used for just 20 minutes on average, take up to 1,000 years to degrade.

Rather than paying this levy many people are now opting to use their own shopping bags. This provides companies with a great opportunity to enhance their eco-credentials whilst providing customers or employees with a useful and meaningful corporate gift.

The range of ethical, reusable bags on offer is enormous and branded with your logo or message, make the perfect gift. We have very successfully used a compact, lightweight, yet sturdy shopper to contain samples or brochures at exhibitions and other events. People love them and much prefer using them to bulky, unattractive and often difficult to carry plastic bags, which they may only use once.

We have a couple of simple tips to consider when choosing your bag:

• Something light but strong, that’s easily folded, is more likely to be carried and reused.
• Long handles make the bag more versatile.
• An attractive design is more likely to be appreciated. “Less is more” usually holds true and a simple logo is more effective than full contact details.
• What do you wish to achieve through the branding? Is it to publicise your company to a wider audience or simply remind the recipient of your brand every time they use the bag?
• Branded bags also serve as an advertisement for your company or product so consider branding on both sides so the branding is always seen.

At MBM Omega we offer a wide selection of ethical, reusable bags.