Like so many English shoppers, I’ve been caught out several times in recent weeks by not having a spare cotton bag on me when I go to buy something. Big stores now have to charge 5p for each plastic carrier bag used. We all should get into the habit of carrying around a reusable bag just in case, rather as Soviet era women used to have their avoska, or string bag – as indeed my mother and aunties did too in the 1970s. There turn out to be plenty of avoska bags on sale to meet the need.

The reduction in plastic bag use is an example of one of the forces reducing the amount of stuff in the economy. Environmental concerns have led to more recycling and re-use, and to reductions in packaging. The post-crisis recession has clearly played a part, as people have had until recently less income to spend on things. There is something cultural in the air, too, from a certain distaste for consumerist bling to the craze for Marie Kondo’s decluttering book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. Read more