Singaporean media wowed by Vietnamese supermarkets’ green move

Hanoi (VNA) – The Straits Times, an English-language daily newspaper based in Singapore, published an article on April 3 praising an eco-friendly campaign in Vietnam, which has seen local supermarkets using non-plastic products to wrap vegetables.

Accordingly, the three biggest supermarket chains in Vietnam – Lotte Mart, Saigon Co-op in Ho Chi Minh City, and Big C in Hanoi – have begun using banana leaves instead of plastic bags.

Citing information from a Vietnamese newspaper, the article noted that Lotte Mart in Ho Chi Minh City plans to expand the use of banana leaves to its entire national chain later this year, following a trial period in the southern city.

The measure is part of an effort to switch to environmentally friendly products, not only for vegetables but also fresh meat.

The company has also sold paper straws and food boxes made from sugarcane waste, while eggs have been contained in paper packages instead of plastic boxes.

Big C, meanwhile, is offering shoppers completely biodegradable bags made of corn powder, it added.

Vietnam is one of Asia’s five worst polluters of ocean plastic waste, according to international organisations. With 13 million tonnes of waste released into the ocean each year, the country ranks 17th globally for ocean plastic waste pollution.–VNA