The supermarket giant collaborated with Anya Hindmarch to create her brand’s tote, ‘The Universal Bag’, which is guaranteed to last for 10 years.

The bag, which is made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, will be available in 600 stores across the country from March 19.

Hindmarch started the ‘I’m Not A Plastic Bag’ campaign in 2007, which eventually evolved into her Universal Bag project.

In 2021, she launched the Universal Bag with the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.

Now, the bag is sold in Tesco, Waitrose and Asda, as well as Singapore’s Little Farms and City’Super in Hong Kong.

However, shoppers are divided on the luxury offering, with some outraged that Woolies did not collaborate with an Australian designer.

“Couldn’t Woolies find [an] Australian designer???” one shopper wrote.

“So many questions … but let’s start with … Why wouldn’t this come from an Australian designer,” another asked.

“$20 is insane … it’s not even insulated … looks like a solid bag … but the price is crazy,”

“Cost of living crisis and Woolworths thought let’s bring out a $20 shopping bag,” another agreed.

Since Hindmarch created the cult bag, “The Universal Bag project has saved over 230 tonnes of virgin plastic from landfill to date, the equivalent weight of over 19 London double-decker buses,” she says.

“Plastic pollution remains a pressing environmental issue, but working together with major global food retailers shows how the solution needs to be collaborative.”