I'm not a plastic bag - Anya Hindmarch

[retrogurl]

just curious if anyone won the "lottery" to buy a bag on their site haha

 

[marlasinger]

I just checked my email and got a "lottery winner" message. I tried logging onto the site but guess what...it's not working

Congratulations! ​

At last the wait is over ... we are delighted to let you know that you are one of the lucky few to be selected to buy I Am Not A Plastic Bag.
We have made this really easy for you to do. Simply click on your unique link below to start the purchase process. This link has been created especially for you and can only be used by you for the purchase of one bag. The link will expire after you have bought your bag

I already got one bag from RonHerman.com but I'll probably buy this one too.

 

[Cypresses]

It's available at Holt Renfrew too, if any fellow Canadians were wondering. Just call to pre-order. More info, and I read about it here: http://www.bagsnob.com/2007/04/us_launch_of_im_not_a_plastic.html

I guess I'll call tomorrow, but I've never pre-ordered anything before in my life. Sorry if I sound stupid, but do I have to be 18 and over or something

Holt Renfrew is pretty screwed, the ppl who pre-ordered got the call a day before the release and being told that the list is cancelled and the only way to get one is go to line up.

And that's not the most terrible part, i was like the 2nd in line at side door, but after we got in we were being told that we had to line up at the door closest to the bag department, so this sale told us that she can only give 10 bags to this group of ppl who were lining up there. but what she did is, she cherry picked 10 persons from this group ( based on who she knows ) and even when i told her i was the first few ppl lining up there (i am the 3rd, but frist 2 ppl left) she told me "it doesn't matter, i don't remember you!". WFK?

 

[lucy92]

excerpt from wwd

Hindmarch "Green" Bag a Hot Item
By Rachel Brown with contributions by Sophia Chabbott


"We had to make it a desirable bag that people wanted to wear," said Hindmarch, who was in Los Angeles for the launch. "To make it cool, there had to be a sense of exclusivity and excitement."

The bags, with cursive navy blue lettering and trim and rope straps, were available at Hindmarch's namesake boutiques in New York, Los Angeles and Short Hills, N.J., as well as at Ron Herman, Post 26 and Fred Segal Flair in the Los Angeles area and Holt Renfrew in Canada. In a month, 20,000 more bags will be released to Whole Foods locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The line outside the SoHo store wrapped around the city block. Its supply of 850 totes sold out in less than three hours.

In Los Angeles, lines started forming in front of Hindmarch's Robertson Boulevard boutique at 4 a.m. — the bags didn't go on sale until seven hours later.

Courtney Jaravata, 21, a student at Santa Monica College, arrived at 5:30 a.m. even though she had already bought two of the totes for $100 total, including shipping, on eBay from the U.K. She saw the British version, which has brown lettering and trim, reach $350 on the auction Web site.

Although Hindmarch professes she isn't a green guru, she said making consumers ponder their consumption choices was the point of the "I'm not a plastic bag" campaign.

"It makes people think about the message of not using a plastic bag," she said.

Along with the bag's popularity, however, Hindmarch has experienced some backlash. She's been criticized for manufacturing the totes in China and with nonsustainable materials, and has been accused of using the phenomenon as a marketing ploy.

"It genuinely wasn't a marketing thing when we started out," said Hindmarch, who added that the bags were made in China without organic cotton to keep prices down. "I hope, though, that it ends up being good for us. That way, people won't be afraid of doing something like this."

Hindmarch's totes will be unveiled in Southeast Asia on July 6 and in Japan on July 14. The bags at those launches will feature, respectively, charcoal gray and dark green lettering and trim, and production runs for each will be capped at 30,000 units.

 

[MissMagAddict]

Steal This Bag (If You Can)
Thursday, June 21, 2007

(NEW YORK) Umbrella toting shoppers from Midtown to SoHo started assembling as early as 2:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, braving the June rainshowers for a chance to purchase one of Anya Hindmarch’s $15 “I Am Not a Plastic Bag” canvas tote, created in collaboration with We Are What We Do, a global social change organization dedicated to inspiring people to help the environment by making small changes in their daily lives, like reducing use of plastic bags. After selling out immediately in London earlier this year, the much anticipated U.S. launch drew massive crowds from Manhattan to Los Angeles.

Fred Wong was the first person in line at the 60th Street store in Midtown, which had received a shipment of 1,200 bags. “I have no idea about this bag, my girlfriend just sent me,” said Wong, who arrived at 4:00 a.m., then went to check out the SoHo store, which wasn’t opening until 11:00 a.m., and returned back uptown to claim his prime spot on-line for the Midtown store’s earlier debut at 10:00 a.m. “I think this is crazy but my girlfriend lives in London and it’s totally sold out there, so here I am.”

Melanie Brown, the second person in line, left her home in Forest Hills, Queens at 4:45 a.m. and was outside the store 55 minutes later. “This bag is all the rage and I just really want it,” she said, having taken off from work to wait. Brown was among the first three people in New York to make the two bag maximum purchase which totaled, with tax, $32.50.

By Thursday morning, bags were fetching over $200 on eBay. “I’m gonna buy two bags and sell them online and get like $300,” said 22-year old James Sun. “I just got fired from a job two days ago so I need some extra cash; this is a great opportunity.” Elizabeth Clark, 16, waited on-line with her mom and sister. “We’re here because we love all of Anya’s bags and we care about the environment too,” she said.

When the doors opened exactly at 10:00 a.m., the crowd had climbed to 425. Eager shoppers lined 60th St. wrapping around to Park Avenue and back across 61st Street. The line moved in a relatively calm pace, with Hindmarch employees serving bagels and water to all.

“You should hear the stories I got,” said store manager Mary Apicella. “I hear everything from ‘I’m about to give birth’ to ‘My mother has cancer’ to ‘I don’t want to miss my kid’s first day of school.’” A few bribes were offered as well. “One man offered me $50 for each bag in the window,” said Apicella. “I said, ‘No way!’”

Maryann Caruso got on line at 8:30 a.m. and was close to the door when a man with a baby in tow attempted to cut her. “He offered to pay for both of my bags if I allowed him to pretend to be my husband,” said Caruso. “He was the second person to use the baby thing and I said no way, it’s not fair to everyone else.”

Down on Greene St. in SoHo, Vivian Bui, a CVS pharmacist from Brooklyn, waited patiently in line with her friend Stephanie Brown, an interior design student, who drove through the night from Richmond, VA with her daughter Zia and her daughter’s friend Nana. She paid $35 to park at a garage on Wooster Street to spend nearly the same amount for her two bags. “I want to introduce them to family members and friends that don’t get the eco message and think that everything’s expensive,” said Brown. “Plus they’re cute,” Bui added.

Hindmarch’s retail neighbors took advantage of the waiting crowd, with Space NK employees handing out catalogs on its store offerings. Steven Dubb, an NYU graduate who now works for Credit Suisse and got on line at 9:45 a.m., took advantage of the reading material as he waited in his suit and tie. “I just started work and I’m bottom run,” he said. “My boss gave me the address and some money and told me to get two for his wife.” Alvin Chow, in from Hong Kong on business, said, “My girlfriend got the brown one in London and wanted me to get her the U.S. one. I read the news about this so I was expecting this line.”

By noon, the Short Hills, NJ store had sold out all 500 units it received. Similar scenarios played out at Ron Herman, Post 26, and Fred Segal Flair, as well as at Holt Renfrew in Canada. For those unable to purchase a bag this week, 20,000 units will be made available at Whole Foods stores in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut starting July 18. Also in July, Hindmarch will launch her prized tote in Japan and Southeast Asia. Those bags will feature exclusive trim in bottle green and grey, respectively.

Three thousand miles away in Los Angeles, salespeople on South Robertson Boulevard—who have undoubtedly witnessed all manner of behavior in the name of shopping—saw even its most jaded clerks doing double takes upon viewing the line of people that snaked all the way down the block. “What’s this line for; someone giving out free ice cream,” a jovial mailman asked as he pushed his cart along the clogged sidewalk.

Fans determined to snag one of the boutique’s cache of 1,000 totes began congregating outside its doors in the wee hours of the morning; by the time they opened at 11:00 a.m., the queue had swelled to the triple digits. “I’m supposed to be on strict bed rest,”
confessed a conspicuously pregnant Celestine Joo. “But I had to get it; I’m a bag wh*re.” Shana Davis, a 22-year-old manager of Studio Max, said, “I requested this day off over a month ago. I collect tote bags like this one [I have], all the way from Dean & Deluca in New York.”

The presence of security guards did not prevent some overzealous shoppers from defying the two-bags-per-person limit, offering passers-by bribes to buy on their behalf. “I need to buy one for my mom and one for my sister,” pleaded Caitlin O’Keefe, a 21-year-old student. “I’m gonna sell ‘em on eBay,” another briber boasted immediately upon exiting the shop.

While the L.A. shoppers weren’t the only ones whiling away their morning in pursuit of the bags, they were the ones lucky enough to be greeted by Hindmarch herself, who had flown in from London for the event. Was she irked by the idea of her totes being sold on eBay for ten times their price? “It bothered me when I first heard about it,” said the designer, who hasn’t been to L.A. in six years. “But then I realized it didn’t matter, since the whole point of this project was to raise awareness of the issue, which the bags that end up on eBay still do.”

Ultimately, for Hindmarch, the motives of the totes’ buyers are irrelevant. “The bags aren’t perfect—they’re not made from free-trade cotton, which wasn’t available when we started this project two-and-a-half years ago but they’ve served their purpose as billboards,” she explained. “We reached a tipping point. People are much more aware of the problem and involved in it now.” For instance, Sainsbury’s supermarkets in the U.K. have a no-plastic-bags policy two days a week; they’re promoting the philosophy of “reduce, reuse, recycle.”

By noon, with the line outside as long as ever, a prankster on the roof of the adjacent building began shouting in an official-sounding tone at the people waiting, “There are no more plastic bags left!” No one budged.

source: fashionweekydaily

 

[germaine]

finally got it in Beijing..

just paid for it..have to wait until July 22 though..

 

[kasper!]

i want to have this bag so much
it will be on sell on early july in hk

 

[purexelegance]

Is anyone buying the bag in Tokyo or other areas of Japan?

I am hoping that the hype of these bags are only in the US and Europe... and not in Japan!

 

[ninakp]

i'm making my exboyfriend in NJ get this for me when it comes out! =] he better get it for me, HOHOHO~

 

[Donhay]

the bag is launching in Malaysia today...yay yay yay! wonder will it be as hype as in London

 

[fashion_victim_Q]

shame

Today all sold out in Hong Kong~~
600 peoples waiting outside the shop ..... angry about can get one ..... horrible~~
How come people all gone crazy about that?
It just a cotton bag ><
This game the winner goes to Anya Hindmarch but not 'not to use plastic bags' !! So shame ......

 

[Donhay]

The same happened in Malaysia. passed by the Anya Hindmarch shop during lunch time. There're loads of ppl outside the shop. The shop have to close. The ppl made big big fuzz.

 

[Grill]

For all of those - myself included who were unable to get an Anya Hindmarch I'm not a Plastic Bag - (my mum really thought I was dim when I even mentioned my interest in bag) - count yourself lucky! I've seen a few of the original bags in London - my home town - and I can tell you they get very grubby bottoms (nice!) and also the metal rings which attach the handles to the bag come away with multiple uses!

 

[Kate_Moore]

I'm looking at the website and it doesn't allow me to buy it cause I'm not a draw winner. What does it mean?

 

[jackieonassis]

you had to sign up for their mailing list and then you were selected to puchase one of the bags. I was selected but there were problems with the checkout and credit card things, so I refrained in the end.

 

[Kate_Moore]

^Oh, okay, just joined it. How long it takes to know if you're accepted or not?

 

[jackieonassis]

^ It depends on if they do another draw. I'm not sure if they have done another draw for like the version in Asia.
You could always email?

 

[Kate_Moore]

^Just emailed them. I'll tell you what's their reply, thanks a lot.

 

[joiedemode]

I like how you guys are buying this bag "to be ethical" but it is made in China and not even ethical itself

 

[jackieonassis]

^ Kate Moore.
Hope you are successful! Yes, let me know !