The British Fashion Council (BFC) is announcing today the launch of the ‘Great British Designer Choose to Reuse’ campaign, a collection of conscious lifestyle products designed by RIXO in collaboration with Bags of Ethics, available to purchase online. The campaign aims to encourage the public to take the challenge to ‘Choose to Reuse’ by swapping from disposable items to reusable alternatives with the end goal of reducing the waste produced from single-use plastic. As part of the campaign, participants are encouraged to log their swap online at bagsofethics.org, with the ultimate target of 1 million swaps.
The range of products, available to purchase online through bagsofethics.org, includes luxury canvas shopping bags (£5) and multifunctional reusable mesh bags (£6 for a pack of three), as well as aprons (£15) and tea towels (£12 for a pack of two) which aim to encourage consumers to cook more at home. The collection also includes sustainable coffee cups (£15) and reusable water bottles (£15) all of which have a QR code for users to scan their swap pledges onto an aggregator. The entire product range is designed by RIXO with designs drawn from their signature exclusive prints seen across their fashion collections. A percentage of the profits raised from the sale of items in the collection will be donated to the BFC Foundation, the charity that supports the future growth and success of the British fashion industry by focusing on education, grant-giving and mentoring, with another portion of the profits donated to The Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative, a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive BFC said: “The state of the planet is an extremely pressing issue which thankfully is finally beginning to be addressed by leaders globally, but there is still a large part that we can play as consumers to reduce our individual carbon footprint. This campaign promotes a conscious way of living that is both attainable and maintainable for all of us while having a significant impact on our consumption and waste.”
Dr R Sri Ram, Chairman, Bags of Ethics: “We have always been at the forefront of supporting the public through mass behavioural changes in positive and useful ways. Since the early 2000s we helped supermarkets, and retailers reduce their single-use plastic bag consumption by 10+ billion units through sustainable and reusable bags. An ongoing challenge is the effect our habits and behaviour have on the environment and by using these new RIXO designed products and “swapping” an existing damaging routine for something reusable and more environmentally friendly we can all make a difference.”
RIXO Designers of the collection say: “As a business we have been thinking about how we can make an impact and play our part in becoming more sustainable and mindful of our environment. It’s been a great opportunity for us to create such a variety of items that will help so many people move towards small but everyday ways to do their part too for our planet. We used our signature brand prints which are fun and unique to RIXO.”
It is estimated that over 7.7bn plastic bottles, and 25 billion disposable coffee cups are being used every year in the UK – that is around 2 to 4 bottles and cups every week for each of us. In addition, each UK household still uses over 57 plastic bags a year contributing to 900,000 tonnes of single-use waste. A recent global study concluded that disposable cutlery, and containers from takeaways dominates 75% of ocean plastic waste.
The products have been manufactured by Bags of Ethics in accordance to Sustainable Development Goals 5 Gender Equality, 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, 13 Climate Action, 14 Life Below Water, 15 Life on Land and 17 Partnership for the Goals.
The campaign is calling upon individuals, businesses, and organisations to join in the campaign with wholesale and retail opportunities available.