Why not download our free ebook (originally £8.99) "How to get anything for free!" right here for free Turtle Bags - Save the Turtles!

Where can I buy one: Turtle Bags
Price: £4.95

Corporate Social Responsibility is everywhere these days. It concerns the onus placed on companies to act in an Environmentally and Ethically sound way, and in no bigger area has this affected the consumer recently than with plastic bags.

First it was Marks and Spencer’s charging 5p for their plastic bags and now Tesco are phasing plastic bags out of their stores in favour of bags for life. All of this is naturally done under the banner of reducing our carbon footprint but it probably doesn’t hurt the profits of these companies either. You can imagine the board room discussion “So we get to appear environmentally sound, we don’t have to spend millions on our old bags for no return, and we get to make money on bags for life? Well what are you waiting for, jump on the bandwagon now boys!”.

With this triplet of benefits one thing is for sure, plastic bags are about to get rarer than a holographic shiny Pokemon card, so we’d better start stocking up or find alternates. If you don’t fancy putting this money back in to the pockets of the Supermarkets that set you down this road, there are numerous eco friendly alternatives there to help, one such product being Turtle Bags Pocket Strings.

Presented in a neat pocket sized bag, these are an ideal solution to the problem of having to cart around several bags for life when you’re not really sure if you want to buy anything. The bag is kept neatly tucked away in a small pouch, and you simply unfold it from the pouch when you need it. Rather cleverly the pouch also acts as a small pocket when the bag is unfolded so you can shove keys, or pocket change in there as well.

Turtle Bags have their own reason for developing this range of bags, and that’s to save the Turtles of the world that end up eating our plastic bags by mistaking them for Jellyfish. Plastic bags don’t go to the same magical place as hot air balloons when you let go of them on the wind, and it seems they end up in a Turtle’s stomach if we’re not careful.

As a result we have this mesh based wonder in our possession to save the turtles, cut down on our bag consumption and help the environmental (well go in then, if we must). My initial question was whether the small holes would endanger numerous birds in the same way plastic can holders currently do but these are designed as bags for life rather than one off use and throw away items, so that neatly side-steps that issue.

As for being used in the shopping experience this photo demonstrates the bags capability to cope with even the most absurd of loads: A Gamecube, 7 tubs of wax, and 8 bottles of cosmetics. All completely full to brim with solutions, all creating a heavy strain on the bag and somehow it manages to cope without problem.

So it seems like a rousing success. There are obvious concerns if you try to fill it will anything small that will fall through the holes, and it is a rather fashionable alternate to the bland bags for life (don't let the brown put you off there's numerous other colours). Now the only question I have left is just what am I supposed to empty my cat litter in to without a plastic bag?

Also if you want to see a great take on Corporate Social Responsibility pick up ‘The Corporation’ on DVD.