Bags of Ethics/ Supreme Creations 25th Anniversary Summer Garden Party
On 12th June 2024, Bags of Ethics and Supreme Creations founder Dr R. Sri Ram, hosted the 25th Anniversary Summer Garden Party at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. As part of a year-long calendar of events, international conferences, and educational days, to celebrate the anniversary, guests were invited to revisit the Chinaberry tree that was planted in 2022 by Bags of Ethics for HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.
Clients, collaborators, influencers and press from the Bags of Ethics community came to celebrate in the beautiful gardens, renowned for their specialist focus on medicinal plants and trees.
Brands that attended included Sephora, Sainsbury’s, International Hotel Group, British Fashion Council, Fashion Trust US/ Arabia, Lock & Co, Ottolenghi, Zandra Rhodes, eBay, Al Shaya, Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst / HENI, Cass Art, V&A and many more.
Also in attendance were collaborators from the Department of Business & Trade, Mayor of London, Royal Households, Waste Recycling Action Programme, Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, Fashion Revolution, Institute of Positive Fashion and more.
Dr R Sri Ram, founder of the business, said “We are here to celebrate 25 years of manufacturing at the Bags of Ethics factory in Pondicherry. Many of you have visited the factory and I along with my entire team wanted to say Thank You to all of you. I can see so many successful entrepreneurs here and they will agree that it is a difficult journey not just to commence a business but to sustain this over many years. When I started this business we focussed on three things – People, Product and Planet. I have been immensely lucky that we have stuck to these three principles. Talking about people – We employ over 80% of women and have empowered entire communities over the years. Our team speaks over 14 languages fluently. Our workforce is one of the best in the industry. Our products are made with the best machines in the world and we work with some of the best designers – Dior, Zuhair Murad, Julien Macdonald and several of the new generation of British designers. Planet – Lastly our products have changed consumer behaviour to ensure we are kinder to our planet. We revolutionised behavioural changes by reducing over 30 billion plastic bags from our retail environment. We brought this change by using biodegradable and sustainable materials. We also ensured it was fun to use by combining fashion.”
Also speaking at the event was Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council on her partnership and friendship with Bags of Ethics/ Supreme Creations for 15+ years and her recent trip to the factory in Pondicherry. “It was emotional for me to meet the ladies who made the masks for the Great British Designer Face Coverings Project” which helped the BFC Foundation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The huge donation that resulted – over £500,000 – contributed to giving grants to our British designers at a real time of need”.
During the party, guests were able to see a small exhibit of the 25 years of work by Bags of Ethics/ Supreme Creations. Special moments in the history of the company are the impact of BBC’s The Blue Planet documentary and the movement against single-use plastic; the serendipitous connection to Tesco resulting from participants of the Wings of Hope Achievement Awards, the history of creating the first Fairtrade cotton shopping bag for the Co-Op, scaling up the factory in the pink Pondicherry factory, and the important connection with fashion through a partnership with British Fashion Council and leading global designers.
Guests enjoyed South Indian street food, and live music as part of the festivities and shared their special moments with Bags of Ethics over the years.
We look forward to continuing the celebrations throughout 2024.
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