A nationwide ban on single-use plastic bags in Thailand is causing shoppers to get creative with how to carry their groceries.
Though the ban does not fully go into effect until 2021, major retailers like 7-Eleven are no longer supplying the beloved plastic bag. Now shoppers are using suitcases, baskets and things you couldn’t imagine at stores.
The trend has taken a life of its own, more so for social media likes than practical use it seems. Thai shoppers have taken to Instagram and other social platforms to share their unique and somewhat bizarre alternatives to plastic bags.
One post shows a woman placing her recently purchased potato chip bags inside of a suitcase, which has more room than she actually needs. In a TikTok video, a man similarly opens up a suitcase while standing by a store register and begins to dump his items inside.
Others are hanging their purchases on clips and hangers apparently from out of their closets. One photo posted on Instagram shows a man holding a pole stick with hangers on it. On the hangers are clipped bags of potato chips.
Shoppers have also turned to use other random items that can be found in the home like buckets, laundry bags, a pressure cooker and, as one male shopper used, a dishpan big enough to cook a large turkey.
Some chose to get more creative by using construction cones, a wheelbarrow and baskets with straps tied to them.
Fashionistas opted for more luxury objects to carry their groceries like designer bags.