grocery store designs embarrassing plastic bags to stop people using them

a grocery store in vancouver has printed embarrassing slogans on its plastic bags in a bid to stop its customers from using them. the 3 plastic carriers are intended to deter shoppers from using them by featuring fake motifs like ‘into the weird adult video emporium’ and ‘dr. toews wart ointment wholesale.’

another says in bold letters: ‘colon care co-op.’ the independent grocer, which is called east west market, hopes shoppers will bring their own reusable bags into the store instead.

images courtesy of east west market

according to greenpeace canada, canadians generate about 3.25 million tonnes of plastic waste, or about 140,000 garbage trucks’ worth, each year. in an effort to get people to switch to resuable bags, east west market printed some embarrassing fake store logos on its plastic bags.

‘so many people own reusable bags but forget to bring them,’ david lee kwen, east west’s owner, tells vancouver is awesome. ‘we want to help customers remember their reusable bags in a way that will really stick with them.’

the city of victoria was one of the first municipalities to outright ban single-use plastic bags, the huffington post reports. from july 1, 2019 fees will increase in victoria on july 1, 2019, to a minimum of 25 cents for paper checkout bags and $2 for reusable checkout bags. last year, vancouver also announced plans to ban single-use plastic straws.

the campaign follows similar eco-conscious efforts around the world as business and municipalities make moves to phase out single-use plastics. last year, the UK outlined plans to ban ‘avoidable plastics’ as part of a 25 year environment plan ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. the tanzanian government also recently announced a ban on the entry of all plastic carrier bags into the country.