Bags of Sustainability - Ep137: Anya Hindmarch

Cleaning Up is back for its 10th season, and to start proceedings in style, Michael's first guest is Anya Hindmarch. Anya is one of Britain’s most celebrated fashion designers and a leading voice in the industry on sustainability. Anya started her business in London in 1987 and now has 16 stores worldwide, as well as her own retail village in Pont Street, Chelsea. With the launch of her I’m Not a Plastic Bag totes in 2007, she helped kick-start a country-wide debate around single-use plastics, and this year Anya is collaborating with leading supermarkets again to prevent plastics pollution in style. In 2017 Anya was awarded a CBE, and in 2019 she became a Greenpeace Ambassador. 

Links and Related Episodes

Read about the impact of the original ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ campaign: https://www.anyahindmarch.com/pages/im-not-a-plastic-bag

You can read Anya Hindmarch’s pledges to sustainability and more here: https://www.anyahindmarch.com/pages/our-commitments

The Industry: Anya Hindmarch brings circular shopping bags back with Tesco and Morrison’s: https://www.theindustry.fashion/anya-hindmarch-brings-circular-shopping-bags-back-with-tesco-and-morrisons/

Politico: Fashion’s sustainability reckoning: https://www.politico.eu/article/fashion-sustainability-reckoning-industry-textile-regulation-evironment-human-rights/

Guest Bio

Anya Hindmarch founded her business in London in 1987 and it has since grown into a global brand. Today, it is as known for its luxury, organisation-obsessed accessories as it is for its ground-breaking work in sustainability and its playful experiential retail concepts. I Am A Plastic Bag was launched in 2020 to tackle post-consumer waste, with each bag crafted from 32 half-litre recycled plastic bottles. 2007’s I’m A Plastic Bag ignited the debate around the use of plastic bags and contributed to the decision to charge for plastic bags in the UK. In 2021, Anya launched The Universal Bag, a unique collaboration with supermarkets to rethink the reusable shopping bag.

Anya is an Emeritus trustee of both the Royal Academy of Arts and the Design Museum. In 2017, Anya was awarded a CBE in recognition for her contribution to the British fashion industry. In 2021, Anya published her first book, If In Doubt Wash Your Hair.