The Government's marketing arm has announced it is stopping the use of plastic bags for promotional purposes, with immediate effect.
The move came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned he was ready to force supermarkets to take action to cut their own use of disposable bags if they do not do so voluntarily.
Conservatives accused ministers of hypocrisy after uncovering official statistics showing that Whitehall departments and agencies had bought more than 1.2 million bags branded with their logos and slogans for promotional campaigns over the last two years.
The Central Office of Information (COI) - which provides the vast bulk of Government marketing and promotional material - announced it will in future provide only reusable bags made of materials like hemp or cotton.
A spokesman said: "COI is undertaking a major project on sustainable procurement - the sustainability of all our output: direct mail, advertising production, print and paper, exhibition builds, etc. The work will take around three to four months to complete.
"We already advise our clients to consider alternatives - such as hemp - but as part of this initiative the purchase of plastic bags will be phased out with immediate effect."
In an article for the Daily Mail, Mr Brown hailed the example of retailers such as Ikea, which removed single-use plastic bags from its stores last July, and Marks & Spencer, which announced it will charge 5p for each one issued.
And he said it was time for Government, individuals and supermarkets to "accept our own responsibility for ending the environmental damage we are causing".
Mr Brown said that he and his wife Sarah had taken steps to cut the waste they produce and reduce their carbon footprint by installing solar panels to heat water at their Scottish home; recycling and composting; taking the train more; and using low-energy electrical appliances and avoiding leaving them on stand-by.
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But he said that they nonetheless often found themselves with "a bin full of plastic bags" from supermarket deliveries, with each bag sometimes containing only a few items. "This cannot be right," he said.
