Environmental protection ideas in Vietnam
TẮT ĐÈN BẬT Ý TƯỞNG
Worldwide recognition has been developed around the WWF’s fantastic Earth Hour campaign, but fewer people are aware of the Light Off campaign organised by Hanoi-based t-shirt brand Bo Sua.
Bo Sua’s Boovironment campaign this year saw them organise a series of activities in response to the Earth Hour event. This included bringing recyclable material, such as old bottles and clothes, in exchange for plant pots. Mr. Viet Anh, CEO of Bo Sua, states that his environmental policy is about “Big results made from small steps.”
With such a keen youth following it is important for companies like Bo Sua to set a good example. By creating events like these, where they use virtual reality games to educate their attendees, and show them how to make handmade soap, bags and eco bricks, they show what a modern company should be doing.
“Big results made from small steps.”
S&L DINNER
“We strive to minimise our negative impact on the environment.”
Single-use plastics are a part of our everyday lives, from plastic bags to temporary dinner plates. We don’t however, often stop to think about the impact of these minor actions. styrofoam, which will often make up our takeaway boxes, can take anywhere between 500 years and never to decompose.
One company taking action against the eternal trash that is takeaway boxes is S&L’s Diner, Hanoi’s first all-American diner. They state that, “We strive to minimise our negative impact on the environment.”
They do this by using only eco-friendly boxes, made entirely from natural sugar cane. They’re microwave friendly, and biodegradable in the ground within 6 weeks.
LẠI ĐÂY REFILL STATION
“Whenever I have to use plastic, I will apologise by planting a green tree!”
One of the main appeals of Lại Đây Refill Station is that they only use eco-friendly materials made by people in Vietnam. By not using any imported goods, it minimises the footprint that they might have through shipping.
The effort that Lại Đây Refill Station is going to raise awareness is enormous. Co-founder Helly Tong comments, “Whenever I have to use plastic, I will apologise by planting a green tree!”
Not only do they sell handmade shampoos, body washes and lipsticks, homecare and personal care products, all made from natural ingredients, with clear information about the origins and ingredients written on their products, but they use their platform as a thought-leader to help educate other people.
Their other fantastic features include the repair of items to increase their lifecycle, and a Green Share and Reuse program, where you’re able to trade in items you no longer need.
3T STORE
3T is the story of a dedicated individual, Tran Minh Tien, who gave up his job in 2012 to open a shop. 3T stands for “tiết giảm, tái sử dụng, tái chế”, translated into English, “reduce, reuse, recycle”. So, to native English speakers, it’s more like 3R.
Everything the store produces is handmade, from recycled or natural materials. Minh hasn’t stopped there though. Over the years, he’s grown the business and has been organising tours and workshops on recycling craft and environmentally friendly materials. Allowing him to educate others for the benefit of the future.
Minh takes his role in Vietnam’s environmentally-conscious community seriously. He states that, “I make a commitment to my customers, that the products we make are not harmful to the environment”.
Minh is currently working with a group of women in Long An to produce eco-friendly products, like straws made out of bamboo, to sell online. This project not only provides environmentally friendly alternatives, but creates jobs and helps the women earn an income.
3T is also working with a group of women in Long An to produce some eco-friendly handmade products: grass or bamboo straws which only sell online. This project has contributed to creating jobs and helping women to earn better incomes.
“I make a commitment to my customers, that the products we make are not harmful to the environment”
SAVERGLASS
This company is an exception on our list as they’re in France, but don’t worry, they’re still linked to Vietnam. SaverGlass supply all of the bottles that Son Tinh uses for our very own ruou.
They’re a leading company when it comes to having the most environmentally-friendly glass treating techniques available, not only producing attractive bottles, but creating them in the most environmentally sustainable way possible by using recycled glasses. In fact, glass is the only packaging material that is 100% recyclable eternally, and undergoes no alteration in its physicochemical performance. Therefore, one recycled bottle results in the production of one new bottle without losing quality.
This is a fundamental issue for us, as we cannot send out new bottles that we know will take 1 million years to decompose.
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