Everyone’s bag

• The Universal Bag is made from 100% recycled plastic and guaranteed to last 10 years
• Once the bag reaches the end of its life it can be recycled locally
• Designed to be practical and durable and reflect Anya Hindmarch’s iconic style

Launching 23rd March, The Universal Bag will be sold in Waitrose shops across the country encouraging shoppers to continuously reuse the bag with a 10-year lasting guarantee. 

The bag is made from 100% recycled plastic and each step and material used in making the bag has been fully certified under the Global Recycling Scheme (GRS), making this a truly 100%  recycled product. 

The Universal Bag features an innovative, convenient freepost returns pouch built into a pocket inside the bag. You simply turn the bag into its built-in pocket which acts as a pre-addressed envelope, and then post it through a letter box. It is then 100% recycled locally.  

Durable, desirable and iconic

Retailing at £10 each the bag is designed to be practical and durable as well as desirable, the green design reflects Waitrose with Anya Hindmarch’s iconic style.

James Bailey, Executive Director, Waitrose said: “We recently took the decision to remove our bags for life as our research showed that they were increasingly being treated as a single-use item, and this is part of our commitment to only use plastic where it can be recycled, reused or home composted by 2023.

"Plastic will continue to have its uses but we must not create any more of it unnecessarily. Instead, we must  repurpose, reuse and make existing plastic materials circular - this is why we’re excited to be  an early adopter of Anya Hindmarch’s new Universal Bag as it is a great example of circularity  at work.” 

Simple steps towards sustainability

Anya Hindmarch, Founder and Creative Directorsaid: “Everyone needs a bag to move things around. The Universal Bag is designed to offer an alternative solution that saves plastic from landfill, is simple to recycle 100%, is guaranteed for 10 years, and is hopefully special enough to inspire people to use it. When you throw something away, there is no 'away'. By collaborating on this project supermarkets are  showing their continued commitment to reducing the amount of plastic on our planet.”

Notes to Editors

Further images can be found here