But before you start tugging at your buttons to rip your clothes off and demonstrate your naked support of plastics bans, read this. Plastic bag shaming is happening all over the world and people are doing it with their clothes on. All you need do is stand in line at a supermarket behind someone who buys a plastic bag and tut loudly. It's a thing.There is still a long way to go, and while plastic bag crusaders may well still have to get their gear off, it's increasingly unlikely. One of the biggest reasons that so many people around the world have joined the movement against single use plastic bags is a 92 year old man you may have heard of, David Attenborough. Attenborough has bought us one of the most important works of his incredible life. Blue Planet. Important for what and how it records, and the message it gives. While I truly wish this man will live forever, the Blue Planet work will surely be his most important legacy. Never before has there been a documentary that has given us so much appreciation for our planet. The truly jaw dropping non stop photography and cinematography that is Blue Planet makes us appreciate where we live in a way that has never been captured before. And the capture isn't just the planet's beauty. The makers have skillfully managed so many messages - getting across the inter-connectedness of the oceans in and of themselves, and to all of our survival. Somehow in that context, the previously tired repetitive evidence of our contribution has suddenly made a lot more sense.It is his charming, polite, but impassioned plea at the end of Blue Planet that has everyone paying attention. As a parent, there is nothing quite like the images of albatross unknowingly feeding plastic pieces to their chicks or of dolphin mothers feeding contaminated milk to newborn calves. (Yes, I know that is a Puffin. Not an Albatross.) ATTENBOROUGH DEDICATED THE ENTIRE FINAL EPISODE OF BLUE PLANET TO PLASTIC POLLUTION AND IN HIS SIGN OFF HE SAYS: 'FOR YEARS WE THOUGHT THE OCEANS WERE SO VAST AND THE INHABITANTS SO INFINITELY NUMEROUS THAT NOTHING WE COULD DO COULD HAVE AN EFFECT UPON THEM. BUT NOW WE KNOW THAT WAS WRONG'.'It is now clear our actions are having a significant impact on the world’s oceans. [They] are under threat now as never before in human history. Many people believe the oceans have reached a crisis point. Surely we have a responsibility to care for our blue planet. The future of humanity, and indeed all life on Earth, now depends on us.”Six months after the final episode of Blue Planet aired, Attenborough and the BBC released a short clip recognising the incredible impact that the series has had around the world. From India, to China, Australia, the UK and Nigeria. Queens, Prime Ministers, School Principals, Mums & Dads, Businesses. We are all starting to mobilise. There is so much yet to be done, but laws are being changed, palaces are banning plastics, recycling systems are improving and the world over, people are picking up plastic from beaches, ditching plastic for reusables and being more mindful. ATTENBOROUGH AFFIRMS, 'THE ACTIONS OF ANY JUST ONE OF US MAY SEEM TO BE TRIVIAL AND TO HAVE NO EFFECT, BUT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, WHO ARE DOING THE SAME THING, THAT REALLY DOES HAVE AN EFFECT.'I am not saying we are anywhere near where we need to be, but change is in the air. Still, you definitely should go naked rather than use a single use bag, but you can keep your own gear on while doing it. Here's how.
That is literally it. It's that simple. Single use bags were just a bad habit that created a bad nightmare.