Results of a recent survey commissioned by NTUC FairPrice has found that more customers are bringing their own bags when grocery shopping.
As many as 62 per cent indicated that they have brought their own bags at least once compared to 33 per cent two years ago.
Thirty-six per cent said that they do so regularly, while 13 per cent shared that they do it all the time.
Eighty per cent of people who brought their own bags do so to be environmentally friendly and found it convenient to use only one bag for groceries.
The survey involved 536 customers.
A typical Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) customer profile also seems to be more likely to be female and most are aged between 35 and 54 years old.
According to the survey, those who did not practiced BYOB said it was troublesome, inconvenient or that they were too lazy to do so.
They also stated that their grocery shopping trips were either impulsive or unplanned, or they just did not have the habit to BYOB.
Only 13 per cent cited the reason of wanting the grocery plastic bags was to throw rubbish.
Mr Koh Kok Sin, chairperson of FairPrice Green Committee, said, “As Singapore’s leading retailer with a heart, we are keen to leverage our vast network of stores to encourage green efforts. Our intention is to make our stores as eco-friendly as possible, find ways to raise environmental consciousness among shoppers, as well as encouraging them to Think Green and Shop Green.
“To encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags, we offer a variety of reusable bags and place them near our checkout counters, and have a Green Reward in appreciation and acknowledgement of those who support the Bring Your Own Bag programme. We have also introduced dedicated check-out lanes in selected outlets, to create express lanes for those who BYOB. Through such efforts, we hope more customers will inculcate the BYOB habit, and reduce the excessive use of plastic bags.”
