Businesses are often stuck between government policy changes and the convenient shopping habits of their consumers. An example of this was the banning of single use plastic bags, embraced by many regular grocery shoppers as, but equally dispised as inconvenient by others.

All Australian states had plastic bags banned in February 2023 [6], for New Zealand it was July 2023 [7], and the UK implemented the ban in October 2023. [8] While these bans were a significant step toward reducing plastic waste, they sparked frustration among some consumers who viewed the changes as inconvenient.

However the switch allowed supermarkets to charge a premium for reusable higher quality bags, often selling for more than $1, a fee that consumers previously would have balked at. Cheaper paper bags have become more common in the last couple of years, but these are weaker than the original single use plastic bags, and will fail quickly when wet due to condensation from chilled or frozen goods.

This reflects the challenging balance of introducing new sustainability intiviates, and testing public feedback as consumers adapt to the new approach. Brands that rush to implement a new change without listening to their core customers first can risk doing short term harm to their brand, even if the goal was to have a long term impact.