Customer-donated eco-bags turned into shopping bags... Hyundai Department Store launches ‘Re:Bag’ campaign

[Financial News] Hyundai Department Store is launching an eco-friendly campaign to repurpose eco-bags donated by customers as shopping bags.
According to Hyundai Department Store on the 18th, the ‘Re:Bag’ campaign will run from the 21st through the 30th in the food hall at its Trade Center store, for members of Hyundai Department Store Group’s H.Point membership program.
Re:Bag shopping bags are made from eco-bags donated by customers, which are sorted, cleaned and redesigned. Last July, Hyundai Department Store received about 3,000 unused eco-bags through ‘365 Recycle,’ a customer-participation eco-friendly program, and made a total of 1,500 Re:Bag shopping bags. 365 Recycle is a program that collects unused items donated by customers at stores nationwide and recycles them.
The campaign is designed to ensure the recycled shopping bags are used again in actual shopping. Customers who wish to participate can shop in the food hall at the Trade Center store, then request a Re:Bag at checkout instead of a paper shopping bag or a pay-as-you-throw garbage bag and receive one for free.
Each person will be given one Re:Bag per day, and customers who use one will receive a 100-won discount on their food hall purchase. Members of ‘Carbon Neutral Points: Green Living Practice,’ run by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, can receive an additional 100-won incentive. Hyundai Department Store cardholders will also earn 100 Green Friends Mileage points.
A return benefit has also been introduced to encourage shoppers to reuse the bags. Customers who return a Re:Bag to the gift desk at the Trade Center store by the 20th of next month will receive an additional 2,000 H.Point points.
The campaign was developed based on an idea from ‘Youth Climate Action Open Innovation,’ which Hyundai Department Store held this year with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Korea Environmental Conservation Institute. It reflects students’ views that unused eco-bags should not be left sitting idle but should be reused in various places.
Hyundai Department Store will review the results of the program at its Trade Center store and consider expanding the campaign to food halls at stores nationwide.
Yang Myeong-seong, Hyundai Department Store’s executive director in charge of sales strategy, said, “We are continuing various eco-friendly initiatives to reduce the use of disposable products in our food halls, including encouraging customers who use Fresh Table, our fresh-food preparation service, to use reusable containers.” He added, “We plan to keep developing and introducing eco-friendly programs that more customers recognize the need for and want to take part in.”

[email protected] Jang Yu-ha Reporter