Social Marketers' Contribution to Implementing Successful Retail Plastic Bag Bans

Abstract

Single-use plastic bags given to shoppers by retailers have increasingly become a key target for sustainability initiatives, with bans being introduced around the world. The rationale for such bans is based on the environmental impact of single-use bags, compared to their multi-use alternatives. The arguments for bans are underpinned by assumptions about how consumers will respond to the changes, yet do not account for the known patterns of buyer and consumer behaviour from the social sciences. This lessens the delivery of desired outcomes and hampers implementation strategies. This chapter draws upon this established knowledge to demonstrate how such marketing knowledge of fundamental buyer and consumer behaviour is critical when developing and implementing a public policy programme, using the example of a retail ban on the use of single-use plastic bags in Australia. It illustrates how these known patterns hold in this context and shows how social marketing can be used to help shape programme implementation and uptake and the reinforcement of new positive behaviours.

Citation

Sharp, A., Wheeler, M. and Kreinhold, M. (2023), "Social Marketers' Contribution to Implementing Successful Retail Plastic Bag Bans", Crowther, D. and Quoquab, F. (Ed.) Socially Responsible Plastic (Developments in Corporate Governance and Responsibility, Vol. 19), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 151-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320230000019009