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Proud of its independent shops, and recognised by the Clone Towns survey as the least cloned town in the UK, and labelled the world's fourth most funky by BA's High Life magazine, Hebden Bridge has a reputation for conserving it's environment and being at the forefront of providing a unique and attractive place to visit and shop.

Hebden Bridge traders and residents are rising to the challenge to abandon plastic bags from 1st September. Already, 25 of the town's 100 or so shops have shunned plastic bags. Maskills the butchers, Valley Stores, Holts the grocers, Studio Seven Art Supplies and Lamberts the printers are amongst the many well established Hebden businesses that are keen to go plasticbagfree. The town intends to send a bag to every household with a leaflet explaining the reasons for ending the use of plastic bags in the town, and a Hebden Bridge bag will be on sale by the autumn.

Mandi Paramor started the campaign with Nikki Ruse, Louise Marix-Evans, Kat Birch and Emma Leeming after hearing about the town of Modbury, in Devon, which has 43 traders, and banned the bags in May.

Ms Paramor said:

?I always thought I was pretty green and I was frustrated at not being able to recycle plastic satisfactorily. Plastic does not biodegrade, it just breaks down into smaller pieces.

?We have to encourage customers to take responsibility for not accepting packaging. People are understanding that this is a whole new gear shift for the plastic bag free movement, because Modbury is such a small town and we are so much bigger.?

The movement to ban plastic bags is growing, with a national campaign for a plasticbagfree Christmas afoot, moves by the country's largest traders to reduce their use of plastic bags and mounting pressure on government to follow in Ireland's footsteps with a plastic bag tax.

Last month the town had the chance to make their own resusable shopping bags when sewing machines took over the town square.