Consumers Oppose Nanny State On Plastic Bags

In the wake of possible impending legislation which will force retailers to charge for plastic bags, new research from Ipsos indicates that the government may face consumer opposition to their plans - particularly from less affluent shoppers who resent being dictated to on this issue.

Although 57% of the population agrees it is right for retailers to start charging for plastic shopping bags, 52% of people feel they should be able to make up their own minds about this issue and not have it forced on them by retailers wanting to charge. 35% feel it is wrong for the government to ban retailers from giving them away free.

Significantly it is Londoners who are most anti the prospect of having to pay for plastic shopping bags. Also, of the 22% who agree that they would prefer to pay for a bag than bring their own, a higher proportion than average are young shoppers aged 15-24 and affluent shoppers.

Comments Gill Aitchison, President, Global Shopper & Retail Research, Ipsos: "Our findings indicate that although people pretty much accept the concept of being charged for carrier bags, they don't appreciate being forced to accept this either by retailers or the government. Unsurprisingly, the move is least popular with less affluent consumers as currently they often use carrier bags as substitute bin bags - while for Londoners the idea of having to take a shopping bag with you when you go shopping can present a practical problem."

"It is interesting to note the attitudes of the young and wealthy on this topic. While conventional thinking might suggest this group is more concerned with protecting the environment, they are not apparently willing to sacrifice the convenience of plastic bags and would rather pay than bring their own when they go shopping. "

When it comes to the proceeds of funds raised through charging for carrier bags, views of the public seem very clear. 74% of the population feel it is right for money raised to go to charity - this rises to 84% for 15-24 year olds and is shared even by those who disagree with the principle of charging for bags (76%)

Concludes Gill Aitchison: "While many consumers seem wedded to the convenience of free plastic bags, they do seem to have a strong social conscience when it comes to allocating the proceeds of any charges made. This indicates that widespread adoption of schemes such as those recently announced by M&S and Budgens may be a useful dimension to retailers' CSR policies in the future. In addition, given the relatively high number of respondents who said that they would rather bring their own bag than pay for one (59%), there are signs that the Anya Hindmarch re-usable shopping bag trend is set to intensify".

Technical Note:

This research was conducted by Ipsos between 7th and 13th March 2008 via CAPIBUS, the face-to-face omnibus. Data collection took place in home with the respondents and 986 interviews were conducted amongst a nationally representative sample of GB adults aged 15+