Shopper’s Dilemma
On average each shopper uses 300 plastic bags per year.
There is nothing stylish about a plastic carrier bag and bulky jute bags are
so last year! Can you imagine taking eight jute bags to the supermarket for
your family shop? Go hassle-free with Footprint Bags. They are compact,
robust and above all, convenient – and you are guaranteed to look a whole lot more stylish on your shop!
Two mothers find a solution
FootprintBag was borne out of our frustrations at the lack of a practical
alternative to plastic bags for our weekly shops! Being environmentally
aware, we had already adopted reusable bags – but were tired of car boots
full of bulky bags, which invariably got forgotten in the car or buried
under tins and nappies in our trolleys! We were inspired by the example
of Hebden Bridge – being plastic bag free – and were excited by the idea
of creating a product which could potentially eliminate plastic bags altogether.
The spec was that the Footprint Bag should be compact, contain all you need for
a weekly shop, the pack should be easy to access, practical and not least,
be rather good looking!
After many cups of tea and design sessions, the Footprint Bag started to take shape.
We are two mothers who have been friends for five years and both live in
Yorkshire. We met at local swimming classes for our eldest boys when they
were a year old. Hanny is originally from Germany and settled in Yorkshire
with her husband Ian, born in Huddersfield, a former Town footballer. I moved to West Yorkshire with my husband at about the same time, after living
in London and Manchester. We now have five children between us and the combination of this and a busy company, takes up most of our time!
Footprint Bag – The Company
We formed our Footprint Bag Ltd in November 2007. Hanny has a background
in advertising, having worked at the world renown Gray Worldwide GMBH and
I work at British Airways as long haul cabin crew. Developing a new product
is exciting and a great learning process but with the recent credit crunch,
is something that requires a great deal of persistence. Hanny and I have
worked through three pregnancies (!) and I even had a photograph with a
Footprintbag on my wedding day!! It has been a learning process but we
have had lots of interest from the start, from Rachel Elnaugh, former
Dragon’s Den star, to local entrepreneur, Carl Hopkins (Secret Millionaire) who enthused after taking his Footprintbag to the local supermarket!!
Footprint Bag – Reusable Bags with a difference
Footprint bags are designed to make re-using easy – with eight strong bags
made from rip-stop material (also used in parachutes) within one
compact pack. The pack hooks neatly onto the front of a trolley and
can be dropped open at the check-out and the bags pulled out as needed.
There is even a handy trolley coin attached, so no more scrabbling through
your purse for a pound coin!!
Not only does the pack slot neatly into a car glove compartment, it can be
carried in your handbag for general shopping. There is no need to accept
a plastic bag again -(the average person uses 300 bags per year.) This is
the last stand of the plastic bag before Footprint bags wipe them out for good!
We have just completed market research with a local company, Susan Kenyon
Associates, and were heartened by the fantastic results.
This is what market research found…
• 86% like the concept of our multipack.*
• 65% would definitely consider purchasing the FootprintBag.*
* August 2009 official market research on Footprint Bag
This proves what we already suspected, that there is a real consumer need
to find an alternative to plastic bags.
We sell on-line at our own website and through a few chosen on-line retailers,
including Eco-Handy and Essentials catalogue. As far as the ‘big boys’ go,
we have had meetings with some fo the big supermarket retailers who have expressed serious interest.
Despite the credit crunch, we have also landed a deals with other prestigious retailers.
Problem Solved with Footprint Bags!
Check out our website Footprint Bag
Watch the video Footprint Bag Video
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