Green campaign launched in City

The campaign will call on people to consume more environmental friendly products and encourage businesses to increase their responsibility towards the community and the environment.

According to the organizers, seven projects on environmental protection have been carried out in the city this year, with the participation of more than 1,000 volunteers.

A new feature of this year’s campaign is a project that instructs households in Tan Phu District to classify different types of solid garbage, said Nguyen Thanh Ngan, chief volunteer coordinator of the campaign.

More than 90% of households in the district have committed to maintain “green residential quarters”.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, deputy director of Saigon Co.op, said sales of green products had increased strongly at Co-op Mart supermarket during the campaign.

For this year, the supermarket chain will set aside a total of VND23.5 billion (US$1.1 million), six time higher than last year, to implement six promotion programmes under its green consumption month from June 7-22.

During the period, customers will have a chance to buy green products at cheaper prices, and receive gifts if they use environmentally-friendly bags and others, Nhan said.

A ceremony will be held at the co.opmart Binh Trieu on June 7 to officially kick off the “Green Consumtion Campaign 2014”, which is co-organised by Saigon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper, the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, and Saigon Co.op.