Supermarket ‘bags for life’ must cost more to cut plastic use, urge campaigners

UK's bag for a week' habit is no green alternative - rather, it has created more problems for the environment

Green campaigners have urged higher prices for so-called bags for life after dramatic sales increases at some retailers since the ending of sales of single-use plastic carrier bags.

Marks & Spencer sold six times as many bags for life in 2019 as the year before, up from 13.4m to 82.6m, according to figures from Greenpeace and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Iceland tripled its sales, to 107.3m from 34m the previous year.