Back in June 2021 GRÜNBAG delivered 80 Norr Strap Backpacks to the World Productions cast and crew behind the TV-show Showtrial thats currently airing on BBC.

We have talked to one of the crew members, Stephanie Shires, who is telling about what sustainability means for them:

Why did you choose a sustainable bag for your production crew?

In TV and Film there is a tradition where the cast and crew receive a gift at the end of filming, called a wrap gift. They can be anything from a mug to a coat! However, over years of working in the industry people tend to accumulate lots of these gifts, and many end up being unused.

For Showtrial, we were determined to minimise waste wherever possible and to ensure we had the smallest impact on the planet that we could. From drinking canned water, to using recycled paper – we tried to instil environmentally friendly practices in every part of our production. Therefore, it felt natural to be conscious of the environment when it came to our wrap gifts too!

We wanted a gift that was both practical as well as sustainable, and the answer to that question seemed to lie in a sustainable rucksack! But, also wanting to make sure none of the rucksacks ended up unused, we gave our crew a choice – either to have a sustainable bag or, if they preferred, to plant a tree instead! From this, 50% of our crew chose a bag, and 50% chose a tree, preventing bags from being produced unnecessarily, but meaning the crew who did choose a bag, had one that would last a long time and not hurt the environment in its production.

In TV, there is also a scheme called Albert which you can read more about here. It is a scheme that aims to promote eco-friendly production by helping productions to monitor and minimise their carbon footprint, and it was a vital tool to us during the whole production process. We used these tools throughout Showtrial (even highlighting our choice of wrap gifts with them!) and eventually we gained a carbon neutral status, as indicated by the little foot logo at the end of each episode of Showtrial.

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Why did you end up choosing a Grünbag?

We loved how GRÜNBAG worked with organisations and companies to provide personalised bags and gifts for large numbers of people, but more importantly, we loved that GRÜNBAG shared our desire to be kind to the planet, preventing waste by using materials that would have otherwise been wasted.

GRÜNBAGs were also very practical, being large enough for a laptop, with plenty of pockets and waterproof materials, meaning people could easily use them when working on set, even with our rainy English weather.

Jens Peter from GRÜNBAG was extremely helpful with the whole process of ordering the bags, and the whole team were great to work with, especially when helping us to navigate importing the bags and getting them in time for the end of filming.