We feel bullied into using 'bags for life', say shoppers

Shoppers appear to be resisting a shift to reusable plastic bags, with two-thirds claiming to feel bullied into buying them, according to a poll.

More than half (52 per cent) said they felt guilty using single-use bags and 67 per cent felt bullied into buying supermarket "bags for life", a survey for MyVoucherCodes.co.uk found.

Around a fifth (22 per cent) said they always used a reusable bag when shopping, 31 per cent sometimes did and 47 per cent did not use them. Of the 52 per cent who felt guilty about using single-use bags, the majority said it was because they felt "judged" by checkout staff.

MyVoucherCodes spokesman Mark Pearson said: "With the great efforts of supermarkets to encourage shoppers to cut down on their plastic bag use, we thought it would be interesting to look into what the consumers feel about this.

"Although over half of those who took part in the poll believe the campaign against plastic bags is a good thing, the most interesting result was the apparent pressure customers felt under to adhere to the environmental campaign."