SM Supermalls will launch its new line of bags, which seeks to symbolize its commitment to protect and preserve the environment, in all its malls in China before the end of the year.

Annie S. Garcia, president of SM Supermalls, said the new SM Eco Bag will be made available in its malls in China. SM operates three malls in Xiamen and Chengdu in China. The company will soon open another mall in Suzhou.

“All the proceeds [from the sale of bags] will be plowed back to projects that will help save the environment,” said Garcia at the sidelines of the launch of SM Eco Bags held in Pasig City on Wednesday.

The new SM Eco Bags will be available for P35 each.

SM’s commitment is encapsulated in the tagline “I am in. I am involved.”

The company said the launch of the SM Eco Bag is SM Supermalls’ immediate response to its recent two-year partnership with the United Nations Development Program that specified the observance of a United Nations International Year of Forests.

Garcia said SM will encourage its customers and the general public to use the SM Eco bag as a first step to saying “yes” to the cause of the environment.

“People who will use the SM Eco Bag will in a sense be saying ‘I am in. I am involved’ and hopefully radiate to others the urgent need to sustain the environment,” she said.

“We have had this advocacy for the past three years but this time we would them to say ‘yes’ to the case and at the same time be responsibly fashionable. The SM Eco Bag will both be functional and fashionable,” Garcia said. (Nonie Reyes)