Once a month, a group of 3 young people together opens a second-hand market at the Dune 45 coffee shop located at No. 2 on Thi Sach Street, Hai Chau District, Da Nang. The market for used items opens in the middle of a green garden of the coffee shop in order to help local residents, including school pupils, college students and white-collar workers to shop what they want at cheap prices. The intention is to spread the word about protecting the environment through selling used items and products made of recycled and upcycled materials at the market.

Second-hand books being display on store shelf at the "Autumn Market". Photo: H.T.V

Started in March 2022, the second-hand market has till date been held under different themes for 6 times. The market which carried its theme of ‘Autumn Market’ opened in September to sell second-hand and reusable items to help buyers save money and reduce waste in an effort to protect the environment.

Bustling atmosphere at the market

The "Autumn Market" attracted a large number of shoppers who were school pupils, college students, white-collar workers and others. Especialy, the second-hand clothing store was crowded with buyers as they were priced to suit every pocketbook.

Ms. Tran Ngoc Thao, a second-hand clothing seller, said that she has a passion for used items. She highlighted the benefits of using second-hand clothes to the reduction of environmental pollution from the textile dyes that are particularly severe pollutants due to their high toxicity to the environment.

Going with a friend to shop at this market, Ms. Thuy Dung, an office worker, decided to buy 2 dresses and 1 cloth bag after looking at them for a while. “Secondhand clothes feature rare designs while they are still quite new and cheap. I choose to buy them to save money and change my style," Dung said.

Visiting the ‘Autumn Market’, young people could find books that have been absent from the market for a long time but they were sold at reasonable prices. Huynh Phan Thao My, 22, a student happily said that she found information about this second-hand market on social media platforms, and she was surprise to see many beautiful and affordable items here. She loves reading books so she bought 2 used novels at cheap prices.

Encouraging people to make use of used items

The idea of the second-hand market was developed by a 3-member group consisting of Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Tran Ngoc Thao and Le Ba Nhat Thanh who is the owner of the Dune 45 Coffee Shop. All of them show their love for the environment so they want to participate in meaningful activities to preserve and protect the environment through organising such a market in an attempt to reduce waste as well as the emissions created by producing new materials or disposing of them in landfills.

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh remarked that she has organized such a event for many times in Ha Noi where she used to live. She realized that there were few places where such a community event is organised when she moved to Da Nang. She wants to encourage Da Nang community to make use of second-hand items to extend the useful life of products through organising the second –handmarket at the Dune 45 coffee shop. Sellers of environmentally friendly products and used items now welcome in this market

The “Autumn Market” featured 13 stalls covering an area of ​​about 3 square metres each that displayed such environmentally friendly products as bamboo bags, natural oils for hair growth, handmade notebooks, canvas bags, essential oils, natural soaps plus used items, including cameras, clothes, and books. The event attracted a great deal of attention from young people in Da Nang

Used items sold at the second-hand market have been well-cared-for, have undergone limited use, and are still in good working condition. Both sellers and buyers at this market have a passion for second-hand, reusable and natural products.

Ms. Thanh said that the “Autumn market” did not use plastic bags in a bid to reduce the amount of waste as shoppers were required to brings their own shopping bags.

Reporting by HUYNH TUONG VY – Translating by H.L