Japanese women who don't indulge in the national passion of buying
designer bags and who care about the environment may soon have an
alternative -- their bra.
A lingerie maker, in a bid
to discourage Japanese from using plastic bags, on Wednesday unveiled a
bra whose cup padding unfolds
to become a handheld shopping bag.
Lingerie maker Triumph has regularly designed bras aimed at drawing
attention to social issues and to raise its own profile. Last winter it
unveiled a bra that can be heated in a microwave so as to help save on
indoor heating costs.
The "Bra Rangers" -- named after the television characters that morph
into superheroes -- come with matching underwear whose pocket has the
inscribed message, "No more plastic bags!"
The bra-turned-bag is made of polyester fiber created through
recycling. The bra straps can be tied onto the bag as ribbons.
Japanese shops hand out some 30 billion plastic bags per year, of which
nearly a third of them are thrown away without being reused, said Triumph.
Few businesses, faced with tough competition, will risk alienating
customers by not handing out bags, Triumph said.
"In this context, what deserves the most attention is the significance
of each and every customer understanding the importance of not using
plastic bags," it said in a statement.
Triumph said it had sought a patent for the eco-bra, although it has no
plans for now to put it on general sale.
C: A Triumph employee displays a "No More Plastic Bags Bra" -- a
shopping bag made of a transformed bra -- at the company's showroom in
Tokyo.
