This plastic bag, from East West Market supermarket in Vancouver, features a humorous – but embarrassing - slogan, to encourage consumers to bring a reusable bag and to encourage a conversation around plastic waste. Three slogans were used – this bag has the slogan 'Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium', and the other two are 'Dr Toews' Wart Ointment/ Wholesale' and 'The Colon Care Co-op’.

The supermarket had initially introduced a 5-cent per plastic bag charge, but customers were not dissuaded from using them. The supermarket owner, David Lee Kwen tried a different approach – as well as the charge, the bags now had slogans suggesting that they may contain embarrassing products. Kwen explained the intention was not to humiliate customers, but that “We wanted to give them something humorous, but also something that made them think at the same time”.

The release of the East West Market bags generated international media attention, with titles including The Guardian, and The New York Times covering the story. As a result, the bag became hugely popular, as Kwen described: “Some of the customers want to collect them because they love the idea of it”. As the New York Times article pointed out, the bags became fashionable, and it was the opposite of shameful to be seen carrying them. Following this unexpected outcome, Kwen commissioned tote bags with the most popular slogan ‘Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium’ so customers who wanted the bags could have a reusable version.

Plastic waste is a problem, since it does not biodegrade. Large amounts are produced and when thrown away it goes to landfill or ends up in the oceans. 2015 figures show that each year an estimated 80 million tonnes of plastic entered the oceans each year. Once in the oceans, plastic can remain as debris, but it can also break down to microplastics which can harm organisms that consume it. Additionally, the production of plastic is resource intensive and often uses toxic ingredients. Worldwide, over 40 countries have restricted the use of plastic bags with the aim to reduce the amount of single-use plastic produced. Cities too have introduced their own legislation. In November 2019, Vancouver voted to ban the use of plastic straws in the city from 22 April 2020 – World Earth Day – and to ban plastic bags from 1 January 2022 (after the initial goal of 2021 was adjusted because of the Covid-19 pandemic).