Japanese women who don't indulge in the national passion of buying designer bags and who care about the environment may soon have an alternative -- their bra.

A lingerie maker, in a bid to discourage Japanese from using plastic bags, on Wednesday unveiled a bra whose cup padding unfolds to become a handheld shopping bag.

Lingerie maker Triumph has regularly designed bras aimed at drawing attention to social issues and to raise its own profile. Last winter it unveiled a bra that can be heated in a microwave so as to help save on indoor heating costs.

The "Bra Rangers" -- named after the television characters that morph into superheroes -- come with matching underwear whose pocket has the inscribed message, "No more plastic bags!"

The bra-turned-bag is made of polyester fiber created through recycling. The bra straps can be tied onto the bag as ribbons.

Japanese shops hand out some 30 billion plastic bags per year, of which nearly a third of them are thrown away without being reused, said Triumph.

Few businesses, faced with tough competition, will risk alienating customers by not handing out bags, Triumph said.

"In this context, what deserves the most attention is the significance of each and every customer understanding the importance of not using plastic bags," it said in a statement.

Triumph said it had sought a patent for the eco-bra, although it has no plans for now to put it on general sale.

C: A Triumph employee displays a "No More Plastic Bags Bra" -- a shopping bag made of a transformed bra -- at the company's showroom in Tokyo.

(AFP)
 不爱买时装包及环保意识较强的日本女性很快就会有一种新的选择--可变身为购物袋的文胸。

日本一家内衣制造商为了使人们少用塑料袋，于本周三推出了一款新型文胸，这种文胸的胸垫展开后，可以变成一个手提购物袋。

内衣制造商黛安芬公司为了提高自身的知名度和公众形象，常会设计出一些具有“社会效应”的内衣。去年冬天，黛安芬公司为了响应日本政府的节能计划，就推出了一款可以用微波炉加热的文胸，从而减少室内供暖的成本。

新推出的这款名叫Bra Rangers的内衣得名于电视剧中的变形超人，与其配套的内裤口袋里还绣有"别用塑料袋！"的字样。

这款变形文胸由循环再生聚酯纤维材料制成，文胸的肩带可以系在包上作饰带。

据黛安芬公司介绍，日本的大小商店每年要向顾客提供约300亿个塑料袋，而其中的三分之一没有经过再利用就被扔掉了。

而且，在激烈的市场竞争条件下，没有几个商家会为了几个塑料袋而去“得罪”顾客。

黛安芬公司在一份声明中说：“在这种情况下，让每个顾客认识到不用塑料袋的意义才是最重要的。”

黛安芬公司说，公司已为这款环保文胸申请了专利，但目前还不准备在市场上销售。

Vocabulary:

lingerie : 妇女贴身内衣

cup padding : 胸垫