Retailers call for the passage of the “green bag” ordinance

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA-Cebu) is calling the attention of the Cebu City Council to accelerate the passage of the “green bag” ordinance to fully implement its advocacy to push all retailers to adopt environment-friendly operations.

PRA-Cebu president Jun Yap said that unless the City Council will pass an ordinance requiring all “retailers” in Cebu to provide environment-friendly shopping bags, this advocacy will remain futile.

The “green bag” advocacy was started by the PRA-Cebu in the last couple of years, until now the program has not fully taken off and most retailers in Cebu are still giving plastic bags to consumers.

According to Yap, this advocacy will be one of the important focuses of the PRA-Cebu starting next year. A close collaboration with the City Council will be pursued.

PRA-Cebu has already been working on the readiness of implementing the “green bag” campaign in all its members, by coming up with a bulk buying facility and a design in a bid to introduce massive promotion for eradicating the use of plastic shopping bags.

“We can start with the bags. Later on, we will also promote the non-usage of plastic cups or massive campaign of recycling the plastic cups used by restaurants and café shops,” said PRA-Cebu past president Melanie Ng said.

Although it is costly for retailers to provide recyclable shopping bags to customers, Ng said PRA-Cebu will make it a point that no additional cost will be passed on consumers.

PRA-Cebu is talking with several manufacturers focusing on producing eco-bags to get a good deal.

“It has to be something durable and also affordable for retailers,” Ng said.

PRA-Cebu launched last year, its “Every Bag Counts” or EBC campaign to drum up awareness in using only recyclable shopping bags in 2010.

Providing a one-green-bag design for all members is one of the immediate projects of the group, to give convenience to consumers, doing away from accumulating several green bags at home.

This time, one green-bag will work for all retail outlets, although retail stores also have freedom to promote their own design of recyclable bags.

Chester Lim, chairman of PRA-Cebu “Every Bag Counts” program earlier announced that the group will start installing a bulk-buying effort among retail players in order to save on cost in promoting “green bag” campaign.

This will start the introduction of one-design green bag for all members.

Apparently, this time providing biodegradable shopping bags is more costly, than giving customers the traditional plastic bags.

However, Ng said if the 110 PRA members will be ordering to bulk to eco-bag suppliers, the group will be able to get good price deal.

PRA-Cebu is tagged as the most active retailers’ group in the Philippines promoting the green-retailing campaign.

However, although the retail group association is serious on this campaign to avoid the use of “plastic bags” as their way of helping the protection of environment, if the there is no law that will support the program, it will remain as a mere campaign, while PRA-Cebu can not force some members or other retail operators to use only “green bags.”

Yap said it is important that the program will be supported by an ordinance, or a law from the government to enforce all retail players to adopt the campaign.

Hopefully, he said the Cebu City Council will give its support to this program, Yap said. (FREEMAN)