Green-minded and loving it
One of my favorite things in the world to do is go to the grocery. I am no shopaholic, but spending time in the grocery is different. Wherever I am, whether in the province, out of the country or in the mall, I find time to make my way to the supermarket.
It must be because as a kid I loved going there with my mom. I loved the idea that I was able to help my mom pick the items that my siblings and I would use at home. Call it kid empowerment.
I no longer go to the grocery with my mom on a regular basis, but I still love going, this time on my own, as it brings back happy memories and new discoveries.
Over the weekends, I found myself at SM Supermarket in
“We always look for areas where we can bring value to our cardholders,” said Aneth Lim, Citibank vice president, public relations and communications. “We have found that our cardholders use their credit cards in the grocery and we want to be able to make a contribution here.”
Citibank credit cardholders have begun to see just how much better it is to do the groceries with the credit card, so that they can keep track of their monthly expenses.
Gone are the days when people would use the credit card as a tool of last resort. Nowadays, most people know that it is best to use the credit card for regular purchases to remove the hassle of bringing along lots of cash. Of course, it also makes balancing the books at end of the month easier.
For Citibank, the Greenbag tie-up with SM is perfect, as this year, Citibank has started on its program to contribute to a greener environment.
“The Greenbag program of SM is something that attracted us. Plastic bags contribute to a lot of waste. They also endanger marine life,” added Aneth.
“The green bag SM offers can be used for as long as two years. Citibank gives the green bag for free with every P500 purchase. Hopefully, customers of SM Supermarkets will fall into the habit of reusing the green bag and refusing the plastic bags.”
It would be great to see more people bringing their own green bags to the grocery to pack the stuff they buy at SM Supermarket. Imagine just how much we could do for the environment if we all just brought the reusable bags with us.
I continued my grocery shopping checking out all the organic, healthy and yummy choices I could make while at SM. It felt like being a kid again, and for the time being I was happy.
I got some tofu, picked up some healthy snacks and also got a few bars of laundry soap, which my mom asked me to get. The last stop was the pet section where I picked up a few bags of treats for my always-hungry canine companions.
At the checkout counter I paid with my Citibank credit card, made sure I got the receipt and off I was in a dash to the green bag counter.
“The green bag is very attractive and it makes a person feel good about doing something for the environment,” said Aneth. “On top of that, if you do grocery shopping and use your green bag, you get extra points on your SM advantage card.”
I got my free green bag at the claim counter in SM Supermarket, after I presented my Citibank card and the sales receipt.
It is really a nice cloth bag, which fit perfectly over my shoulder. For the environment, I would willingly wear my cause (over my shoulder) for everyone to see each time I enter SM Supermarket and other places, too. It would be a great world if people came to the grocery and left with these green bags; greater yet if plastic bags would become a thing of the past.
“At Citibank, we always strive to deliver better value for our cardholders and give them more and more reasons to carry one,” said Aneth. “With this promotion, we are rewarding them and at the same time empowering them to take positive action towards saving the environment.
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The Citibank-SM Greenbag offer is ongoing until the end November. The offer is exclusive to Citibank cardholders who do their grocery shopping at SM Supermarkets.
