Pictured: With the Women's Aid charity bags are Midcounties Co-operative colleagues, from left, Charlotte Branson, Lucy Dunn and Lindsay Roche 

Ethical retailer The Midcounties Co-operative has launched a Fairtrade cotton bag exclusively designed by leading fashion designer Betty Jackson to support its charity partner.

The £1.99 shopping bag bears the message 'You can't beat a woman' and all proceeds will go to Women's Aid, the key national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children.

The limited edition bags are on sale at Midcounties supermarkets in its trading heartlands in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties.

Maxine Sharman, Head of Community Engagement at Midcounties said: "This is a designer bag with a difference and we are sure it will be popular. As well as raising money for a great cause it also enables customers to show their support and raise awareness of Women's Aid. Choosing such bags also helps to decrease the use of plastic bags throughout our stores.

"We have worked with Supreme Creations, the world's largest ethical manufacturer of eco-friendly bags. They have made the bags at a factory in Pondicherry, South India, where 90 per cent of the workforce are women."

Teresa Parker from Women's Aid said: "Midcounties is a fantastic supporter of our charity and we think that the 'You can't beat a woman' bag is a brilliant product that will really help us to raise funds. We would like to thank Betty Jackson for generously donating her design to Women's Aid and hope that the Midcounties' customers love the bags as much as we do."

The bags will go on sale from Friday 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of Women's Aid's '16 Days of Action' campaign which runs until 10 December.

Midcounties is supporting the work of Women's Aid nationally and eleven local services that operate within its trading areas, including refuges at Wolverhampton, Walsall, Shropshire, Wyre Forest, Warwickshire, Wycombe, Oxfordshire, The Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire. Colleagues are raising money, taking part in volunteering projects and getting involved in campaign work.

Since the two year partnership was launched earlier this year Midcounties has raised £130,000 for the cause.