Banner Bags recycle Liverpool 08 adverts

Liverpool is Europe's Capital of Culture for 2008, and that means two things: there's an awful lot of interesting things going on in the city this year, and there are going to be an awful lot of advertising banners that need to be recycled. Banner Bags has stepped in to help with that, creating a range of messenger bags, handbags, totes and laptop bags, all made from Liverpool 08 advertising banners.

"Thousands of advertising banners are produced for festivals, concerts and advertising campaigns using PVC and polypropylene, which do not biodegrade," says Paul Gilbraith, managing director of Banner Bags. "Instead of disposing of unwanted banners in landfill sites, we turn seemingly valueless items into eco-friendly fashion. The result is a reasonably priced bag that most discerning fashion-conscious people would like to carry."

Creating bags like this is nothing revolutionary -- Freitag pioneered it, and a few others have already followed their lead. However, there's plenty of raw material out there, and the more of it that gets reused, the better. Another plus point is that the bags are made in the UK, so they don't have to be transported as far to shops.

The company has teamed up with event organisers and various manufacturers before, including making bags from Kona Bikes banners and the Mayor's Thames Festival.

The Liverpool European Capital of Culture bags cost between £19 and £30. You can pick one up from the Albert Dock Visitor Information Centre in Liverpool, or if you don't happen to live in Liverpool, you can order them online.

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