READ all about it! A Gwent postman has turned the Argus into handbags.

Entrepreneurial Graham Skyrme, 43, from Cwmbran, started up his sideline business-cum-hobby, Recobags (recycled eco-friendly handbags and accessories) after seeing fashion items ranging from purses to handbags made entirely out of recyclable materials at an exhibition in Oxford Street, London, three years ago.

About a year ago Mr Skyrme decided to have a go himself, starting off by crafting purses from things like the inside of crisp packets and juice cartons.

But it was the bags that really caught Mr Skyrme’s eye, so much so that he got a few copies of your South Wales Argus together and sent them off to a company in Mexico City to have some eco-friendly fashion of his own created.

Mr Skyrme said: “I had to get together seven copies of the Argus to send off to the company in Mexico who manufacture the bags. It took about six weeks in total before I got the bags back and it cost me a fair bit in postage.”

The bags have copies of the paper folded and woven together to form the main structure before leather handles are added and a waterproof laminate put on.

Mr Skyrme says the bags retail at around £75, and similar pieces of eco-friendly fashion created by the American company Eco-ist have appeared on the pages of Vogue and can be spotted in the hit film Sex and The City 2.

The bags are just one of a number of products Mr Skyrme creates, as well as purses (£16), key rings (£3) and place mats (£8), with designs ranging from anything from Coca-Cola bottle labels to the Olympicthemed purses he has just finished crafting.

“I could do everything myself except for getting the waterproof lining on the bags, which is why they are made in Mexico City,” Mr Skyrme said.

“I don’t want to preach to people but it takes about 30 years for some of the materials we send to landfill to break down, so while I think the bags are works of art I also think it’s a better use of the waste.”

Answer our question and you could win your own Argus bag

For your chance to win, send your answer to the following question, to which city does Mr Skymre send the Argus off to be turned into a handbag?

Put your name and address on a postcard to Handbag competition, Newsroom, South Wales Argus, Cardiff Road, Newport, NP20 3QN.

To enter by text: Start your message with Handbag leave a space and then send your contact details to 80360.

Messages cost 50p plus your normal operator text charge. Competition opens today and closes at noon on 26 June 2012. Service provided by Newsquest Media Group.

Or you can enter online

One entry per household. Normal South Wales Argus rules apply.

There is no cash alternative to the prizes described above. No purchase necessary.