Customers now get rewarded for using their own bags

Singapore, 25 July 2007 – Come 26 July, customers shopping at Singapore’s largest supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice will have another good reason to bring their own bags everyday. The leading retailer is rewarding shoppers with an instant 10-cent rebate for a minimum purchase of 10 dollars if they use their own bags to pack in their purchases. This incentive scheme will be available everyday, and not just limited to the first Wednesday of every month, as promoted under the ongoing “Bring Your Own Bag Day” drive.

The first supermarket retailer in Singapore to reward customers for using their own bags, NTUC FairPrice Group CEO, Mr Tan Kian Chew, explained the chain’s objective for the latest move: “We have observed that more shoppers are bringing their own bags to our stores since the launch of the Bring Your Own Bag Day campaign. This is very encouraging. With the new reward scheme that we are introducing, we hope the positive reinforcement will give this green drive a further boost.”

NTUC FairPrice teamed up with other supermarket retailers earlier this year in April to participate in NEA’s launch of the Bring Your Own Bag Day campaign. Under the current scheme, shoppers are encouraged to donate 10 cents to the Singapore Environment Council for each plastic bag they take at the check-out every first Wednesday of the month.

Mr Tan added: “Instead of donating 10 cents, customers will now be rewarded with a 10-cent rebate when they bring their own bags. 10 cents may seem to be a small amount, but taken as a positive gesture to reinforce the idea of bringing your own bag everyday, it can go a long way. We hope this will make the green effort a part of everyday life in Singapore.”

NTUC FairPrice will kick off this reward scheme at all its supermarkets and hypermarkets starting 26 July 2007. It will review the scheme after three months, to see if further adjustments are required.