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COMPANY PROFILE
Bags to
riches
Debbie Eales meets Crazy Bags' MD Andy Steavenson at his
delightful converted stable base on the Kent/Sussex border
W
hen the eco revolution happened it was a opportunity for the carrier bag industry.
shot in the arm – not just for the "The momentum came in 2008," recalls Andy.
promotions industry, but for leading "There was plenty of interest before, but there
carrier bag supplier, Crazy Bags. wasn't really the infrastructure to produce the
Until 2007, the carrier bag industry had been fairly potential demand."
static, according to Crazy Bags' Andy Steavenson. In November 2007, Gordon Brown challenged
Andy Steavenson, Crazy Bags'
"The products were not particularly innovative. The British retailers to reduce the "wasteful use of
managing director
industry was volume based, mainly around the plastic bags in the interest of the environment and
supermarkets, and there was a lot of business on common sense". clients buying decisions.
the periphery," Andy told me. A campaign followed, backed by the Daily Mail, “Using environmentally sound, ethically sourced
"The rest of the industry tagged along behind the resulting in reusable bags becoming embedded in and reusable items demonstrates a company’s
supermarkets. And we were stuck with very similar the shopper psyche. commitment to corporate and social responsibility
products for the first seven years of our life. “Despite the downturn, environmental concerns (CSR), while limiting the impact of their
"Of course, we bought in from different areas to remain high on the agenda for business and promotional activities on the environment."
offer better value, but in terms of how the product consumers alike," says Andy. "The drawing Crazy Bags voluntarily work with accredited
was made, everyone was asking for something power of a clear conscience should not be factories globally including India, China as well as
different. But it was very difficult to offer underestimated, especially in our industry where UK printers, and are Fair Trade accredited.
something different." promotional items are often regarded as "All of our eco-bags have been sourced to meet
When consumers started becoming more frivolous or expendable. We should be our strict environmental standards. It depends on
environmentally aware, it was a massive harnessing its impact given its importance to our the product a client chooses as to how and why it
is environmentally sound, but all our eco-bags are
made from sustainable raw materials and are
100% reusable.”
Crazy Bags have been supplying quality carrier
bags, promotional bags and environmentally
friendly carrier bags for 10 years but they have
seen a substantial increase in interest for bags
made from eco friendly jute, cotton, non-woven
recycled bottles and canvas as an alternative to
paper and polythene carriers.
I wondered how that demand had impacted on
Crazy Bags.
Traditionally, the company had brought in finished
products on a "just in time" basis from the usual
sources in India and the Far East, Andy told me.
"Suddenly, people were wanting environmentally
friendly bags, but you can't get a bespoke printed
bag over to the UK in the three to four week lead
time that we work with. You're talking about 10 to
12 weeks from the Far East.
"There was one way around it. People started to
airfreight, but that was completely against the
principles of producing an eco bag because of the
| 52 | March 2010 www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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