What an exciting Plastic Free July is has been for our Rethink the Bag campaign - for a single-use plastic bag free South Africa. With the support of Twyg Magazine and The Beach Co-op, we kicked the month off by inviting every-day consumers and celebrities alike to pledge to give up disposable plastic bags for good.

Thirty-one local celebrities took up this cause sharing the plastic-free message that resonated most intensely with them. These celebs have been joined by more than 150 of YOU that have made your own #RethinkTheBag pledges online and added your voice to the growing pledgers' role.

Make your pledge here

Meet the celebrity pledgers:

#1 Zolani Mahola

 

Welcome to #PlasticFreeJuly! @zolani is taking the pledge to stop using single-use plastic shopping bags. Will you? #rethinkthebag

A post shared by Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town (@2oceansaquarium) on Jul 1, 2018 at 8:52am PDT

#2 Tarina Patel

 

Sylvia Earle @missionblue, a true ocean warrior and a truly inspirational woman said it best, “Humans are the only animal that produces waste that the earth cannot process” We have to #RethinkTheBag and protect our planet from ourselves @chiarascelsi #nomoreplasticco @holisticali

A post shared by Tarina (@tarinapatel) on Jul 11, 2018 at 5:42pm PDT

#3 Siv Ngesi

 

I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag”. WSL/Open JBay. #OpenJBay2018 #CoronaXParley.” @corona_africa @istoreza #iPhoneEqualsiStore #iStoreSA #applewatch

A post shared by Siv N (@iamsivn) on Jul 3, 2018 at 11:39am PDT

#4 Shannon Elizabeth

I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag I’m call on all my friends, not just in South Africa, but around the world to Take the pledge with me! @animalavengers @2OceansAquarium pic.twitter.com/7E9hn1f0Xd

— Shannon Elizabeth (@ShannonElizab) July 4, 2018

#5 Rati Lekalakala

Choose reusable options instead of disposable plastic bags! Make a #RethinkTheBag pledge like @ratilekalakala! @TheBeachCoopZA @twygMAG pic.twitter.com/SOLs63j4bt

— Two Oceans Aquarium (@2OceansAquarium) July 5, 2018

#6 Tumi Morake

#7 Jordy Smith

#8 Natalie Maimane

SAfricans use +/- 8bil plastic bags per year! In our home we have decided #RethinkTheBag
I will no longer buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me and pledge to #RethinkTheBag pic.twitter.com/PTvfcYFj2F

— Natalie (@MrsMaimane) July 8, 2018

#9 Wendy Knowler

“I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag”
⁦@Devi_HQ⁩
This is one of my favourites - strong, waterproof & spreading the word... pic.twitter.com/zXteaWVZMM

— Wendy Knowler (@wendyknowler) July 9, 2018

#10 Frank Solomon

#11 Nik Rabinowitz

By 2050 every single marine bird will have plastic in its body. You wouldn't like it either

I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag pic.twitter.com/5VfqC9Y6xY

— Nik Rabinowitz (@nikrabinowitz) July 11, 2018

#12 Jacquie Myburgh

 

I’ve done it. I will no longer buy a single supermarket plastic bag. If I forget my shopping bags, that means packing a trolley of groceries into my car. Worse things can happen. But I have committed to this once and for all - have you? #rethinkthebag Join me @aspasia_karras and @elizabethsummeraccessories In the meantime I’m going to start collecting some cool shopping bags so there really is no excuse. Bravo on a great initiative @twygmag @2oceansaquarium @thebeachco_op

A post shared by Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly (@jacquie_myburgh) on Jul 12, 2018 at 1:46am PDT

#13 Siba Mtongana

Hey peeps, did u know that South Africa has been listed as the 11th worst contributor of plastic waste into the sea globally? Let’s refuse to be a part of the problem and #RethinkTheBag & use plastic in general. Who’s with me?#plasticfreeoceans#platicfreepledge #Recycle pic.twitter.com/4WualYZxQM

— Siba Mtongana (@SibaMtongana) July 13, 2018

#14 Grant "Twiggy" Baker

 

I will try not to use single-use plastic shopping bags. Please join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag PS: Pick up a free reusable shopper at @acesnspadesbar next time you pull in to wet your throat #plasticfreejuly

A post shared by Grant Twiggy Baker (@granttwigbaker) on Jul 14, 2018 at 6:59am PDT

#15 Carol Bouwer

 

#rethinktheplasticbag We all have every intention to do right by future generations and leave them a world we are proud not to have completely destroyed. When @jacquie_myburgh shared images illustrating our impact on the ocean and how we were killing the very species most of us proudly raise funds to save I realized it was time I also played a small part in living the conservation I so easily speak! Friends, I ask you please to join us in saying goodbye to plastic bags. Let us begin to embrace what will surely be cumbersome at first yet I assure we will get used to doing what feels correct - ultimately. Let us begin to take our own re-usable bags to the market, supermarket etc with us! We are now accustomed to recycling and sorting our trash at home so this will also become second nature! Thank you @jackiemay_sa for inviting me on this journey- I am proud to say NO TO PLASTIC BAGS! A bright, fun yet functional bag is what I encourage you to take grocery shopping while still looking chic! #rethinktheplasticbag

A post shared by Carol Bouwer (@bouwercarol) on Jul 12, 2018 at 1:07pm PDT

#16 Eusebius McKaiser

 

Do I look good in this reusable shopping bag that's a great alternative to plastic? Most of us needlessly use single-use plastic bags which we throw away 20 minutes later. This is bad for humans, and for the environment: most of these end up in remote parts of the planet and at the bottom of our oceans harming many species irreparably, quite apart from much of the toxic chemicals added in the manufacture of plastic finding their way back into the human food chains. I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me and pledge to #RethinkTheBag I also nominate @azania_ and @djfreshsa to make this pledge. #julyfreeplastic #rethinkthebag @twygmag

A post shared by Eusebius Mckaiser (@eusebius_mckaiser) on Jul 16, 2018 at 7:18am PDT

#17 Ard Matthews

#18 Makoma Lekalakala

I pledge to refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. #RethinkTheBag.

I would like to challenge @KumiNaidoo @maremadorah to take the pledge too.

@thebeachco_co @twygmag

— Makoma Lekalakala (@makomaphil) July 18, 2018

#19 Phemelo Motene

 

What keeps me up at night? It's the future of my children and the world they will inherit. So, what am I doing about it? I know I cannot change the world alone, but I pledge to do my bit. Today I pledge to #RethinkTheBag. I pledge to stop using single-use plastic. Please think about doing the same, the future of our children depend on it.

A post shared by Phemelo (@phemelomotene) on Jul 19, 2018 at 10:57am PDT

#20 Seth Shezi

 

P L A N E T O R P L A S T I C ________________________________ A sunny Friday in July is a real treat, not many would pass the chance to enjoy our oceans as I did in the first video. Well it’s not going to be possible for much longer if we continue to use single-use plastic at the rate we are - see video 2 for some of the parts of the world where our unconsidered actions are starting to catch up with us. Video 3 is just me considering the impact and making my decision: From today I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops, I currently use a nifty @thejoinerysa one I got from @woolworths_sa. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag. _____________________________ Thank you @twygmag for mobilizing his drive and aiding in preserving our oceans for future generations. #savetheplanet #planetorplastic #plasticpollution #natgeoyourshot #lovecapetown

A post shared by C A P E T O W N | S E T H (@seth_shezi) on Jul 20, 2018 at 6:57am PDT

#21 Francois van Coke

I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag pic.twitter.com/9iLSaMC6RF

— Francois van Coke (@FrancoisVanCoke) July 21, 2018

#22 Roxy Louw

 

It’s all good to refuse single use plastic for the month of #plasticfreeJuly but what about the rest of the year? Challenge accepted! I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags and straws. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops and use my own @refusethestraw_sa bamboo straws. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag” and to #refusethestraw . . . . . #antiplastic #ecowarrior #oceanminded #noplastic #strawssuck #oceanadvocate #coronaxparley

A post shared by Roxy Louw (@roxylouw) on Jul 22, 2018 at 9:35am PDT

#23 Susana Kennedy

 

Me on the rethink the bag campaign. I pledge to use reusable bags and I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops, Including a net bag for my fruit and veg. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag” together we can make a real difference!!! I dare @theellenshow @mmaponyane @tanyavangraan @charlbi143 @rykneethling and @jon_boyntonlee to make the pledge #reduce #reuse #recycle #rethinkthebag #concious #consumption ##living #love #our #planet #be #sustainable #sustainability @twygmag @thebeachco_op

A post shared by Susana Kennedy (@thesusanakennedy) on Jul 23, 2018 at 1:15pm PDT

#24 Catherine Constantinides

I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag #WasteStopsWithME #PlasticFreeJuly pic.twitter.com/7bC6idiIxJ

— CATHERINE Constantinides (@ChangeAgentSA) July 24, 2018

#25 Jack Parow

 

Klapping a jager with a bamboo straw my bru. I pledge to stop using plastic bags and straws. #rethinkthebag #refusethestraw DOENIT!! //// I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag I also nominate @barthlo_visagie en @grenville_williams to make this pledge

A post shared by Jack Parow (@jackparow) on Jul 25, 2018 at 1:05am PDT

#26 Faine Pearl

 

Diving almost every day along Cape Town’s coastline, there is not a moment where I don’t see plastic, whether it’s urchins using pieces of plastic as a form of armouring or plastic bags and wrappers floating through the midwater. I have chosen to refuse using plastic bags, but I have also chosen to collect as much plastic as I can, be it while diving or walking along a beach. I now attach a meshed bag to my weight belt which allows me to store any plastic that I find. We have reached a situation in which plastic has become the new invasive species, a monster of our own creation, proliferating along our beaches, rivers, seas and now our food chain too. With @twygmag, @2oceansaquarium and @thebeachco_op I have taken the pledge to refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. You too can join me to #RethinkTheBag by making your own pledge. As part of the pledge I challenge @chrisrogers and @nicoleeddy to #RethinkTheBag

A post shared by Faine Pearl Loubser (@fainepearl) on Jul 26, 2018 at 12:36am PDT

#27 Ndumiso Lindi

Did you know: 1 in 3 species marine mammals have been found entangled in marine litter. I pledge from today to try & not use plastic bags when shopping. #RethinkPlastic pic.twitter.com/H1Cqr8RWMu

— Ndumiso Lindi (ROOSTA) (@NdumisoLindi) July 27, 2018

#28 Elle Bella Constantinides

Off to the shops and it’s me and my bag. Nope not a plastic single-use bag but my @missearth_sa bag that has a long lifespan. Join me & pledge to #RethinkTheBag #WasteStopsWithME #PlasticFreeJuly @sa_fusion @WWFSouthAfrica @2OceansAquarium pic.twitter.com/dOFRNlvoam

— Ella Bella (@EllaBellaC) July 28, 2018

#29 Schalk Bezuidenhout

 

This is a really great campaign guys. Seriously, think about the sea turtles! I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops. Join me, and pledge to #RethinkTheBag

A post shared by Schalk Bezuidenhout (@schalkiebez) on Jul 30, 2018 at 8:59am PDT

#30 Kahn Morbee

 

I refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic shopping bags. I will take my own reusable bags to the shops (like the one in this picture) Join me, and pledge to #rethinkthebag @bobbyvanjaarsveld @miss_lira @karen_zoid (my @voicesa chommies) - who i know already do

A post shared by KAHN (@kahnmorbee) on Jul 31, 2018 at 4:29am PDT

#31 Pippa Hudson

Sunrise over the pristine Kogelberg. These are my reusable shopping bags which go everywhere with me. I will continue to refuse to buy or accept single-use plastic bags & will take my own with me to the shops. Join me; pledge to #RethinkTheBag” @Liezl_vdMerwe @KienoKammies pic.twitter.com/k8PKw03b5Y

— Pippa Hudson (@pjchudson) July 31, 2018

Keep an eye out for the last of the celebrity pledgers today on #RethinkTheBag!

If you'd like to learn more about Twyg and get to know the month's celebrity pledgers a bit more - check out the full article on the Twyg website.

Just because Plastic Free July is over, doesn't mean plastic pollution doesn't matter - in fact, this problem is worse than ever! You can support the global move towards a more environmentally sustainable planet by making your own Rethink the Bag pledge, and learning about sustainable shopping choices and reusable alternatives to everyday disposable items. Good luck!