The bag sends out a message that the consumer is intelligent 
May 3rd UPDATE: We have just been notified by the Anya Hindmarch team that after another sell-out launch in London through Sainsbury’s supermarket the online pre-order will be delayed. Originally the official US launch date for online pre-orders was 7th of May but this is going to be delayed due to the overwhelming reaction and response to the bags. They strongly advise you to register on the Anya Hindmarch website so they can keep you updated on when the bags will be available. The in-store launch remains on the 20th June in all 4 Anya Hindmarch stores as well as Fred Segal Flair and Ron Herman in LA.
As with all successful ventures, there will be naysayers and Anya Hindmarch has received recent pieces of press in the UK criticising her for having the bags made in China. As we have received enquiries about this we decided to speak to Anya directly to set the record straight.
From Anya:
“Our aim with this project has been to use our influence to
make it fashionable not to use plastic bags. ‘I’m Not A Plastic Bag’
was designed to be a stylish, practical, reusable bag that would raise
awareness of this issue and spark debate. We feel that we have achieved
this aim beyond our wildest dreams. For more information about where the bags was made etc, please see our website.
Check out the US edition of I'm not a Plastic Bag with navy blue writing! I like it even better than the European version, which sold out within 2 hours in London with lines around the block from 6am! I am so incredibly inspired by Anya's dedication to change the world, one cotton bag at a time. Please join us in supporting her efforts, all you've got to gain is a better world :)
Message from Anya Hindmarch to Bag Snob readers:
"When I was first approached with this idea, it gave me the chills. It seemed so important. The thing that struck me was that when I started working at 18 years old in the late Eighties, I remember drinking double espressos and smoking Marlboro lights and working all day and night. I remember the cool young girls I started employing arriving with their yoga mats and pomegranate seeds and their plants on their desk for oxygen and me thinking it was all a bit ‘knit your own yoghurt’. But of course the reality is that now we all realise the importance of looking after your health, what you eat and what you do. It was these cool, fashionable influences that helped it become trendy."
“The bag project all started two years ago when a man called
David Robinson approached me. David - who is a very good man – runs a
global social change network called We Are What We Do. They are a
fantastic movement who try to inspire people to use their everyday
actions to change the world. He is very much of the belief that if
everyone makes a small change and does their bit it can actually amount
to making a big difference.I just loved the simplicity of that and I
agree with it. The first thing that they did was publish a book, which
was done in a really upbeat, unworthy way, called ‘How to Change the
World for a Fiver,’ and it was very popular - organizations really
embraced it and gave it out to their employees. It started with fifty
actions that anyone could do to help - things like ‘smile at old people
because they know lots of good stuff’ and ‘turn off the water when
you’re brushing your teeth.’But the first action was ‘decline plastic
bags whenever possible.’ We Are What We Do came to see us because they
were very keen to take the success of the book into a project.I was
enamored with the idea because I do believe there is so much wasted
packaging - although I’m far from perfect myself.
But secondly I thought they were really good people and it was a really
exciting project to try and highlight - it’s such an easy thing to do.
We designed the bag as it’s big and easy and great for groceries, but
will probably be used as a school bag or a gym bag. I use mine everyday
as a tote bag bringing stuff from home.
“There’s a lot to be said for plastic for sure, but on a recent shopping trip I refused nine plastic bags as I could put things directly into my cotton one - and that’s amazing.If it makes people rethink their behaviour and perhaps makes the supermarkets rethink their solutions then it’s achieved something as far as I’m concerned."
“What’s really exciting is the reaction from people. “I’ve literally had letters from models, film stars, politicians and even Prince Charles yesterday, all saying ‘fantastic, well done, we all support it and we’re right behind it."
“I’m not the greenest person around, I drive a diesel car (I have five children) but the point is that ‘we are what we do’ and if we all do a little thing then we’ll solve the damage, we’ll stop making it worse. And it really doesn’t take you long to rethink the way you behave."
Changed liao!
Worse, see the prices some people are willing to fork out for them? Which brings to mind one of the facts that was discussed in a recent thread on branded goods here - that of effective marketing and advertising campaigns creating hyped-up demand for goods that do not justify their prices! 
Mom keeps nagging at me that I have more than enough *insert name of whatever object* to last me more than three lifetimes. 
I miss ALL of my cookbooks, MOST of my CD's, and a few of my DVD's. And I also miss a few of my softtoys and ALL of my Sylvanian Families dollhouses and figurines. 
Am I not right, cobba?