One Canadian grocery store’s embarrassing plastic bags shame customers into remembering to bring their reusable ones.
Embarrassing fake logos shame customers into avoiding single-use plastic bags
A Vancouver supermarket has taken unusual steps in an effort to convince its customers to give up plastic bags; embarrassment. Those who want to get a single use plastic bag from independent grocery store East West Market will not only have to pay 5 cents for each bag, but will also have to endure some pretty embarrassing fake logos on the bags, making for a humiliating walk home.
Some customers have taken to buying the bags for the novelty factor
Would you use a plastic bag to carry your groceries if “Colon Care Co-op” was written in large letters on the side? Or “Weird Adult Video Emporium”? How about “Wart Ointment Wholesale”?
One Vancouver market is hoping these messages will convince their customers that using plastic bags is simply not worth the humiliation, and that shoppers will bring reusable bags with them instead.
David Lee Kwen, owner of East West Market on Main Street and King Edward Avenue in Vancouver, said that many of his customers forget to bring reusable bags, and he hopes this unorthodox but humorous strategy sends a message that will stick.
“The message is, we should make a conscious effort to save our planet one step at a time,” he told Global News. “[Plastic bags] are a big problem, and every step helps.”
Not only do the bags include embarrassing logos many shoppers wouldn’t want to be seen dead with, they also cost an extra 5 cents each, a strategy used by many other independent markets to curb plastic bag use.
Kwen says some customers have taken to buying the bags for the novelty factor or to show their friends, but overall the campaign appears to be working.
“It’s certainly generated interest in what we’re trying to put out,” he said. “Once you start a conversation, it will skyrocket from there, I think.”
The bags won’t last forever, though. Kwen says printing the special bags costs the market an extra fee, so they’ll be a limited edition order unless people convince him to do it again.
Vancouver has implemented a Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy, which requires businesses to come up with their own ways to reduce plastic bag use.
The strategy also says the city will implement a full ban if reduction targets aren’t met by 2021.
Kwen says he hopes the ban will come sooner than that, though.
“We’ve been advocating for it for the longest time,” he said. “Once you start the process, it will get smaller and smaller, and hopefully the problem will be gone.”
Source: GlobalNews.ca
11 Single-use plastic bans from around the world reported by BrightVibes in 2019
2019 has seen governments at both local and national levels taking action against the global threat of single-use disposable plastic items. Here are 11 examples bright to you by BrightVibes this year. Click on any highlighted link to see the full article. Also, check out our “Sustainable Planet’ category for other like this and more on environmentally friendly sorties form around the world.
- ENGLAND BANS 3 KEY SINGLE-USE EVERYDAY PLASTIC ITEMS UK government confirms ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in bid to reduce plastic waste.
- TANZANIA IS SET TO BAN PLASTIC BAGS In a historic conservation move, the government of yet another African country has announced the ban on plastic bag use from June this year.
- MAINE IS THE FIRST US STATE LEADING THE WAY WITH A TOTAL STATEWIDE BAN ON POLYSTYRENE While there have been citywide bans on different kinds of plastic bags and packaging, Maine is forging ahead with a total statewide ban on plastic foam.
- SAN FRANCISCO CITY BANS THE SALE OF PLASTIC BOTTLES New regulations prohibit the sale of plastic bottles at events held on city-owned property in San Francisco, and government agencies may no longer purchase bottled water.
- NEW ZEALAND BANS PLASTIC BAGS FROM 1 JULY 2019 Since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement last August, single-use plastic shopping bags have been phased out in New Zealand, with a complete ban coming into force on 1 July 2019.
- PHILIPPINE SUPERMARKETS DITCH PLASTIC FOR LEAVES, FOLLOWING THAILAND & VIETNAM WITH ORGANIC WRAPPING Southeast Asian supermarkets large and small are embracing this eco-friendly alternative to plastic when wrapping fresh produce.
- PORTUGAL PLANS TO BAN PLASTIC ON FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND BREAD BY 2020 Portugal recently gave the green-light to a bill to stop using plastic on fruits, vegetables and bread by 2020.
- NEW YORK TO BAN PLASTIC BAGS; SECOND STATEWIDE BAN AFTER CALIFORNIA New York State lawmakers agree to impose a statewide ban on most types of single-use plastic bags from retail sales to curb an unsightly and omnipresent source of litter.
- THE FINAL STRAW: EU PARLIAMENT HAS JUST VOTED TO BAN SINGLE-USE PLASTICS IN BID TO TACKLE POLLUTION Single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks or cotton buds, will be banned in the EU from 2021 under new legislation just passed.
- THE INDIAN STATE OF TAMIL NADU SAYS NO TO PLASTIC POLLUTION The Indian state of Tamil Nadu – home to 80 million people – strongly supports the state government’s ban on throwaway, single-use plastics such as carry bags and cups.
- NEW YORK CITY BANS STYROFOAM As of January 1, 2019 certain foam products were banned from possession, sale, or use in NYC. This includes foam takeout containers, cups, packing peanuts, plates, bowls and trays.
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