More NTUC FairPrice shoppers bringing their own bags: Survey

SINGAPORE — About six in 10 NTUC FairPrice customers bring their own shopping bags for groceries and said no thanks to disposable plastic bags, according to a recent survey commissioned by the supermarket chain. For those who have never practised Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) — 204 respondents among the 536 customers polled — the main consideration was convenience. Top reasons respondents gave for not bringing a bag included finding it troublesome, inconvenient or they were lazy. Only 13 per cent said that they wanted to use the plastic bags as trash bags at home. Of the customers polled, 62 per cent said that they have practiced Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB), over a third (36 per cent) reported doing so regularly and 13 per cent said that they do it all the time. FairPrice, which released the results today (Aug 22), added that the results show how BYOB is catching on. Sixty-two per cent of the respondents said they are now practicing BYOB, compared to 33 per cent two years ago. Encouragingly, eight in 10 customers who BYOB said that they do it to be environmentally friendly and find it convenient to use only one bag for groceries. Only 1 per cent said that they bring their own bags to enjoy discounts and rebates. FairPrice’s Green Rewards scheme gives customers a 10-cent rebate if they brought their own bags and made a minimum purchase of S$10. The survey also found that more women eschew plastic bags — 69 per cent — with only 48 per cent of men practicing BYOB. The survey was conducted in May. Respondents were interviewed face-to-face after checking out at NTUC FairPrice supermarkets at 10 locations: Ang Mo Kio Hub, Nex, Jurong Point, Bedok North Street 1, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Chao Chu Kang North 6, Toa Payoh Hub, Tampines Mall, Marine Parade and Bukit Timah Plaza.