Make shopping behavior environmentally friendly action

Last year, the Hong Kong Wellcome supermarket launched a paid plastic bag campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to use fewer plastic bags, but it ended in failure due to opposition and doubts. This year, many malls or large supermarkets have started giving out free eco-bags to shoppers in order to promote the concept of environmentally friendly shopping. However, the promotional effect has been minimal as there are still very few consumers who bring their own non-woven or cloth bags when they go shopping. Some merchants also distribute eco-bags for publicity purposes, but instead of hearing support, we often see people going crazy to grab them just to take advantage of small benefits. During the May Day holiday, I went shopping at the Wellcome supermarket in Guangzhou's Zhengjia Square. Despite the huge crowd, I didn't see anyone bringing their own eco-bag. All I saw were consumers carrying the free plastic bags provided by Wellcome. If someone bought a lot of items, the Wellcome salesperson would kindly help classify and pack the items into several plastic bags. Even though I brought my own non-woven bag, the salesperson quickly packed my purchases into Wellcome's plastic bags. On such peak sales days like May Day, millions of plastic bags become an environmental burden.

Plastic Bags

As consumers, getting free plastic bags is naturally a happy thing. Besides holding items, they can also be used as garbage bags, convenient and cost-effective. Who wouldn’t want to take a few more? Now, with even more valuable eco-bags being given away for free, who wouldn't want one? The idea of environmental protection has long been thrown aside. Take one if you can. Take a few more if you can, it will be convenient to hold things later. Life requires frugality, regardless of whether it's environmentally friendly or not. China is a populous country, and while some families have entered a well-off standard of living, many ordinary people still live at a lower-middle level. These masses, busy with their livelihoods, cannot consider too many other things. Most people think that "environmental protection" is a spirit that should be pursued only after material needs are met. If there are eco-bags available, they will use them, but if plastic bags are more convenient, they will still use them because there are no other bags that can replace plastic bags for collecting garbage. This is a problem that must be considered when promoting eco-bags.

According to online surveys, more than half of netizens support the idea of "supermarkets not providing free plastic bags," which shows that most people still support environmental protection actions. Most consumers are willing to respond to the call for environmental protection, but implementation is much more difficult than we imagined. Our environmental protection actions need a long-term buffer process. Distributing eco-bags does not necessarily make more people associate with the concept of environmental protection. Environmental protection actions need to be demonstrated in better ways.

The purpose of entrepreneurs distributing eco-bags is to turn consumers' shopping behavior into environmental protection actions, but if it doesn't work, it's just a waste of resources. In fact, there are more effective methods to achieve this. Sura is currently conceptualizing an activity called "Sura's Green Life, Environmental Angel," aiming to unite all consumers together for environmental protection. As a non-woven bag merchant, Sura will cooperate with the Environmental Protection Foundation to donate 20% (planned) of the value of each sold eco-friendly non-woven bag to the foundation, supporting China's environmental protection cause. At the same time, Sura will collaborate with other merchants, and whenever a transaction is completed, if the customer indicates willingness to support environmental protection actions, they will become our "Environmental Angel" and receive a free eco-bag from Sura. If consumers can encourage others to join the "Sura's Green Life, Environmental Angel" activity, they can earn corresponding points, accumulating enough points for corresponding discount coupons. Of course, consumers must self-restrain themselves to "refuse plastic bags." We cannot track or investigate every action.

As a non-woven bag merchant, Sura always adheres to the principle of environmental protection. We hope that the concept of environmental protection influences more people, even if it brings no benefit to the company. Environmental protection is not just an individual action; it requires influencing others through human-to-human interaction, spreading like a chain reaction. There are still many issues about this activity that need discussion and practice, and it also requires public support. But if it truly brings benefits to society, we will not abandon the "Sura's Green Life, Environmental Angel" plan.

Tags: Environmental Protection, Environmental Action