Greener Leith is pleased to launch the next phase of the We Love Leith campaign - our innovative campaign to encourage Leithers to choose a better way to travel locally.

Local traders are now offering shoppers with a unique 'We Love Leith' shopping bag, discounts of up to 30% in a bid to encourage people to shop local - rather than driving to out of town shopping centres. The unique re-usable bag, has been designed by Greener Leith to act like a loyalty card for independent traders. The traders themselves decide upon the offer they wish to make, and some also opt to sell the bags as well. That means every time Leithers go shopping locally they will save money by choosing to shop in participating businesses - but only if shoppers have a We Love Leith bonus bag.

Alastair Tibbitt, Development Manager for Greener Leith said, "We're really proud of this project. Not only does it prove yet again that the best deals really are available locally, but it also gives people an incentive to take that 'bag for life' out of the cupboard and walk to the local shops. If you know you're going to save loads of money with your We Love Leith bonus bag, you're not going to bother with the hastle of driving miles through traffic jams to out of town stores. In fact you get rewarded for helping to cutting air pollution, waste, and supporting local jobs."

This week eleven local businesses selling everything from sports equipment, to vintage bikes and groceries have signed up to join the initiative, but it is hoped that businesses of all shapes and sizes will join the promotion over the coming weeks. Greener Leith is providing an extra incentive to local businesses that sign-up early - 50 free bags that shop keepers can sell to their customers.

Gordon Burgess, of the Leith Business Assocation said, "I'm delighted that this project is helping us to spread the word that Leith is a fantastic place to shop. There's a huge variety of businesses in Leith, catering for every interest and every pocket. Businesses in Leith should consider signing-up to support this fantastic local initiative."

From free oatcakes to discount bicycle innertubes - check out the We Love Leith directory to find out how you could save with a We Love Leith bonus bag. And where you can get one from.

If you run a local independent business, and would like to sign-up to join the scheme you can sign up on-line by clicking here: www.weloveleith.com/bagsignup/

At the moment the bags are not available on-line, but they are available now from all good, local, independent retailers.