In recent years, the operation of the grocery store “No Waste To Go” in My An Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang, has actively got involved in spreading the "green" shopping habits among customers.

Ms. Hoang Oanh is arranging products at her store.

“At first, people in the residential area I lived in rarely visited my store because they felt uncomfortable having to carry bottles and jars to store goods because they were used to going shopping empty-handed and leaving their bags behind. But over time, housewives found it useful and changed their shopping habits" Ms. Ho Hoang Oanh, the owner of the grocery store, said.

The small grocery shop with a yard covered with green trees is the passion of Ms. Oanh.

She is inherently an active person with environmental activities. After graduating from Food Technology Major at the National University of Singapore, she participated in many waste treatment projects across Viet Nam.

In 2019, Ms. Oanh decided to start a business with the desire to make a small contribution to forming green consumption habits in the community.

On sale at her grocery store are more than 400 items, and all of them are "green", clean and organic products, especially products originating from nature and handmade items.

There is one thing that is completely different from other stores, that is, if they want to buy goods, customers must bring their own bags, bottles and jars to put their products in.

At this special grocery store, the store owner also sells as much as customers want to buy, sometimes it's just 1g of turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon of curry or 10g of pepper.

"I want people to form moderate consumption habits to reduce the burden on the environment" Ms. Oanh added.

In the first year of operation, Ms. Oanh's store reduced the use of nearly 4,500 nylon bags and plastic packaging and this number has increased to 11,000 in the second year.

Ms. Oanh's shop has even attracted much attention from even foreign customers.

Coming to buy goods early in the morning, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, a resident of Hoa Quy Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, said that "I know the store through friends and social networks. There is a lot of food and supplies needed for the family here, so I come here every week to buy them. In fact, families have a lot of bottles and utensils. If we take the trouble to bring take-home food, we will limit a lot of waste, as well as contribute to protecting your own health".

Meanwhile, Ms. My Linh, who lives in Thanh Khe district, said she has participated in many environmental protection activities, including picking up trash at beaches, so she understood that throwing away a plastic bag or a plastic bottle already caused environmental pollution.

“I come to this store to shop because I want to practice "green living" and protect the living environment. Also, the prices of products are reasonable and the store is beautifully decorated and clean” she noted.

On top of that, No Waste To Go also have a special corner for recycling items where people can bring unused items such as old clothes, books, boxes, bottles and jars so that those in need can pick them up for free. In addition, the store often collects recyclable waste and has collaborated with some factories to make tables, chairs, and furniture from recyclable waste to prolong the product's life cycle.

The store also collects all kinds of recyclable waste, combining with the factory in Quang Nam Province’s Hoi An City to press planks, used to make tables, chairs and furniture. All aims to reduce shopping needs and prolong the "life cycle” of the products.

“The goal that ‘No Waste To Go’ store wants to achieve is to popularise this model as widely as possible and make the habit of “green consumption” as a normal thing to everyone. When we have one more participant, it means we will have more ballots for green living," Ms. Oanh emphasised.

​ Reporting by LINH NGUYEN - Translating by M.DUNG