Beat the 5p bag charge with a touch of BYO carrier chic. MAXINE GORDON picks the best shoppers around

SHOPPING gets more expensive from Monday as retailers begin charging 5p for a carrier bag.

Whether you are buying a new fashion wardrobe or picking up the weekly shop, be prepared to fork out for the privilege of taking it home in a bag (unless you are collecting the dry cleaning or shoes from the repair shop, which are among the items exempted).

Most of us won't mind paying for plastic bags and will most likely change our habits by recycling more, using bags for life and investing in sturdy, re-useable shoppers.

We know plastic carriers are bad news for the environment - they cost precious natural resources to make and can take 1,000 years to degrade.

And yet, we keep using more of them - some eight billion last year, which works out at nearly 130 bags per person, making 57,000 tonnes of plastic waste.

Bags can be a blight on the landscape and are also harmful to wildlife. Recent research shows that 90 per cent of all sea birds have ingested plastic.

Bag charges have introduced in Wales and Scotland with remarkable results - cutting plastic bag use by around 80 per cent. Customers who end up paying for bags are now funding good causes as retailers are passing on the money, which runs into millions of pounds, to charity.

York Press:

Households will spend £67 on plastic bags in the next ten years, making it tempting instead to invest in a sturdy, stylish shopper

Marks & Spencer has been charging for bags in its food hall since 2008. During this time, bag usage has dropped 75 per cent. Last year its food halls used 115million single use carrier bags compared to 464 million in 2007. All profits from sale of plastic bags have gone to the World Wildlife Fund and the Marine Conservation Society.

The government is expecting English shoppers to follow the pattern of those in Wales and Scotland and change their bag-use habit. Otherwise, it will cost them dear. The Taxpayers’ Alliance claims the 5p charge could add £67 to the cost of living per household in England over the next 10 years.

One solution is to invest in some sturdy shopping bags, that not only look good, but will prove economic over the long term - and be good for the environment too.

One of our favourite designs is the foldaway, light, shopping bag that comes in its own matching pouch. Paperchase does a fine selection in some snazzy designs.

But there is plenty of choice to suit all fashion tastes and budgets.

When it comes to shopping bags, one thing is for sure - you needn't skimp on style.