This paper empirically examines whether proscription of a habitual consumption itemcan act as a mechanism to develop anti-consumption behaviour and attitudes. The papertracks a legislated retail ban on single-use polyethylene plastic bags, analysing 1167interviews with shoppers before the ban’s announcement, during a 4-month phasing-outperiod (and demarketing campaign), and when the ban was in full effect. Two hundredand fifty three interviews are repeated with the same individuals to allow identification ofindividual-level attitudinal and behavioural change.Anti-consumption is typically conceptualised as a phenomenon based on choice. Thisresearch investigates how shoppers react when forced into anti-consumption behaviour,and how supportive voluntary anti-consumers are of others being made to change.Grouping shoppers according to their level of voluntary anti-consumption of plastic bagsbefore the ban, the analysis finds that shoppers who voluntarily showed anti-consumptionbehaviour were the only group showing any voluntary shift in anti-consumptionbehaviours during the phasing-out period. These shoppers are supportive of forcingothers to show anti-consumption, while the level of behavioural and attitudinal resistancefrom shoppers that showed little or no voluntary anti-consumption is low. These findingssupport the use of proscription to achieve anti-consumption behaviours, however,proscription does not necessarily engender full anti-consumption attitudes.This study adds to knowledge on anti-consumption and shopper resistance to proscriptiveinterventions designed to reduce socially undesirable behaviours. It provides furtherevidence that demarketing campaigns, without accompanying negative reinforcers, maybe insufficient to achieve widespread behavioural change alone.