Sustainable Shopping - How much is enough

GUIDEBOOK ON THE INTEGRATION OF ECOLOGICAL LIFESTYLE INTO EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH

Topic

SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING "H ow much is enough"

Hanoi, July 2018

Implementation: Center for Development of Community Initiative and Environment (C&E) This guidebook was compiled and published under the sponsorship of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – Southeast Asia Copyright: This guidebook can be copied or cited for noncommercial purposes only Compile: Tran Thi Kim Hoan, Trinh Minh Nguyet Edit: Vu Van Tuan, Ngo Thi Phuong Thao, Nguyen Viet Trung, Bui Thi Thanh Thuy Design: Nguyen Khanh Linh Photo: C&E Center, colleagues and internet Address: No 12 lane 89 Xa Dan street, Phuong Lien, Dong Da district, Hanoi Phone number: +84 24 3573 8536 Email: ce.center.office@gmail.com Website: ce-center.org.vn

PREFACE Within the course of the project “Scaling up and mainstreaming innovative approaches on ecological movement into activities of universities” the year 2018 funded by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, the “Guidebook on the integration of ecological lifestyle into educational activities for youth – Topic: Sustainable shopping” with the name “How much is enough” is one of the 3 educational toolkits on ecological lifestyle designed for teachers, trainers and youth activists with topics related to Waste, Shopping and Gardening. This is a continuation of the toolkits designed in 2017 with 3 topics of Tourism, Food and Water.

In order to support trainers, teachers and youth activists in inspiring their participants in a diverse, scientific-based and interesting way, this guidebook is design to present needed knowledge and skills about the impact of shopping on the ecological, social and economical environment. Besides, while using this guidebook, trainers and youth activists themselves will gain more information and be well-equipped to reflect on their shopping habit and make a change toward a more sustainable lifestyle.

This guidebook focuses on integrating sustainable shopping into educational program and activities to change participants’ awareness and behavior. As a result, they can apply this into their future career and spread the message to their community with the firsthand action of applying into their daily lives.

Furthermore, this guidebook is not designed for teachers, trainers and youth activists only, it is a simple tool for every individuals and organizations who seek to understand and integrate topics related to ecological lifestyle into extracurricular, training or educational activities for young people. No matter who you are or where you work, you can be an inspirer to your community.

The compilation team hope to receive comments and suggestions from individuals and organizations to better revise and publicize this guidebook in upcoming times.

The compilation team C&E Center

MỤC LỤC

01 02

SHOPPING – WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW What is shopping?

Why do we shop?

Factors affect shopping behaviour Consumer buying process Why can’t we stop buying?

How much is enough?

How does over-consumption affect our lives?

What can we do to become wise consumers ?

6 8 9 9 15 16 19 23 36

INTEGRATION OF SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING INTO EDUCATION 38 Sustainable shopping 39 Definition 39 Benefits of sustainable shopping 39 Roles of stakeholders in sustainable shopping 40 Guide to sustainable shopping 42 Why integrating sustainable shopping into education? 48

03

METHODOLOGIES TO INTEGRATE SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING INTO EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH 49 Forms of integration Integration into training activities Integration into field trips Some training methods Experiential learning cycle Best practice analysis Modeling SMART Goal Model

04

RECOMMENDATION FOR TRAINING PROGRAM

50 51 51 53 53 55 59 60

65

Sample 1: In class – Story of stuff 66 Sample 2: In class – Introduction about shopping and sustainable shopping 67 Sample 3: Practical lesson – Shopping experience 69 Sample 4: Field-trip 69

6

PART

01 Shopping – what you might not know

7

Shopping can be considered a daily activity of human being. Try counting how many times you buy something in a week, a month or a year.

In the experience of those who write this book and people a round them, every week they shop at least 2 times for food in shopping malls, 1 time for new clothes or accessory which leads to at least 12 pieces of new clothing each year. The amount of goods being produced to meet human’s need is escalating, follow which the amount of thrash from what being thrown away keep increasing and the input materials are descending as well. Shopping is increasing its impact on the consumption habit and lifestyle of human, at the same time putting more pressure on the Earth.

However, you might not notice that we human is starting to realize the impact of our consumption on our life and on the Earth. Many solutions were given to change our lifestyle such as sustainable consumption, green living or minimal living.

Minimalism1 has become a lifestyle that many people choose to follow.

This lifestyle helps people to feel happier and more free while not being attached to shopping and keeping stuff.

So, what is shopping and why does it have such a huge impact on our life and on natural resources? Why shopping and consumption became a burning issue in the world nowadays to the point that United Nations has listed it as one of the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030: Goal number 12 – ensuring sustainable consumption and production.

Most importantly, what does all this have to do with you – who is working in education and/or development field?

1 Living minimally means reducing stuff that are not necessary in our life

8

WHAT IS SHOPPING? According to Oxford dictionary, shopping is the action or activity of buying goods from shops.2 A broader way to understand it is: Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. 3 Shopping is basically an act of exchanging goods. To understand more about this, let’s listen to an interesting song produced by ABC Channel (United States) and broadcasted on Schoolhouse Rock 4 in 1996 in order to teach children about the history of goods exchange and money:

This for That5 When we lived in caves There were no shopping malls And people’s manners were Neanderthal No bodegas, no delis, no corner stores Shopping trips turned into tugs of war When not having pull got this man mangled H e thought he’d try an easier angle --I’ll give you this for that, that for this We’ll make a trade called “barter” I’ll give you this for that, that for this We’ll have it made with barter […]

According to the song, human firstly got what he needed by exchanging stuff. Could be a bottle for a wooden wheel, a wooden wheel for a chicken. Nowadays, when human uses money to buy everything and become more passionate about this than ever, it all started with “this for that and that for this”.

In centuries, human has been inseparable to shopping in one way or another since trading came about until now.

2 https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ 3 Wikipedia 4 Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children’s programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. (Wikipedia) 5 To watch the video song, you can look on youtube with the key words: “This for That – The Barter song”

9

WHY DO WE SHOP? Every day we make a lot of buying decisions. We buy food, clothing, household items, etc. From small value items to very large valuables, from direct stores to online stores. So, why do we buy those things?

Factors affect shopping behaviour Shopping is strongly influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological traits6.

CULTURAL FACTORS Cultural factors have a profound effect on consumer behavior.

CULTURE Culture is the most fundamental cause for one’s will and behavior. Human behavior is formed primarily through learning. Growing up in a society, a child learns basic values, perceptions, needs and behaviors from his or her family as well as from other important organizations. Each group or society has its own culture, and its cultural influences on buying behavior which can vary widely between countries..

SUB-CULTURE Each culture includes many smaller subcultures - groups of people who share common values based on common life experiences and circumstances. Subculture includes nationality, religion, race and geography. Many subcultures make up important market segments and marketers often design products and marketing programs that fit their needs.

For example: Hispanic Americans consumers - This is considered a potential target of many brands.

The population of this group is expected to grow 163% from 2010 to 2050. Purchases in 2010 are $ 1.5 trillion. This consumer group tends to have strong family orientation and shopping because of the family; Children have a voice for which brand they want to buy. More importantly, these are the first generation immigrants to the United States, very loyal to brands. They support brands and sellers showing special interest to them.

SOCIAL CLASSES Almost every society has a social hierarchy. Social classes are relatively stable and orderly parts of society. Members in each class share similar values, interests, and behaviors.

The social class is not determined by a particular element but by a combination of occupation, income, education, property, and other variables. The different social classes have very different preferences for products and brands of clothing, furniture, leisure activities, vehicles...

6  Principles of Marketing edition 14 (Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, 2012)

10

SOCIAL FACTORS Our shopping behavior is also influenced by social factors such as smaller groups, families, social roles and social status.

GROUPS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS A person’s behavior is influenced by many small groups. When a group brings people into new behaviors and lifestyles, influences their attitudes and their self-awareness, puts pressure on adaptation. All of this can affect the person’s choice of product and brand. It tends to be the strongest when the products comes with the people that we respect, admire.

Impact of word of mouth Words and suggestions from friends, trusted colleagues, and other consumers tend to be more reliable than the information that comes from advertising. Most of the word-of-mouth effects occur naturally: we start talking about a brand or using it, or feel good about it in one way or another.

Word-of-mouth campaigns help boost 13% sales of products in telecommunications, personal care, television programs and consumer goods7.

Social networks With the development of technology, people have more choices as well as more references before buying an item. According to Deloitte’s Digital Democracy survey, 84% of consumers use social networking sites and more than 90% of them are in the Gen Z8 and Millennials9,10. Cũng theo khảo sát này, 36% người tiêu dùng quyết định mua hàng dựa theo gợi ý từ gia đình và bạn bè; 18% theo các quảng cáo trên TV và 17% theo góp ý từ các bình luận trên mạng xã hội.

FAMILY An individual tends to discuss with his/her family members before buying a product or service.

Family members can support an individual’s decision to purchase a particular product, prevent us from buying it, or suggest some other options. All family members perform different roles during the purchase of any tangible or intangible product. Functions include the initiator, influencer, decision maker, buyer, and user.

7 Return On Word Of Mouth (WOMMA, 2014) 8 Those who were born in 2002 - 1997 9 Those who were born in 1996 - 1983 10 Digital Democracy Survey, Eleventh Edition (Deloitte, 2017)

11

PERSONAL FACTORS AGE AND STAGE OF LIFE Shopping habits of people change over time. Dining flavors, fashion trends, furniture choices, leisure and entertainment hobbies are strongly influenced by age. Shopping is also shaped by the stage in the family’s life - stages that a family can experience as we grow older. Life stage changes are often result of demographic factors and life changing events: marriage, childbirth, buying new house, divorce, children’s education, income change, retirement...

For example, ages 18 to 30 with self-sustaining people without family support, the best way to contact them is via phone or tablet and they usually have the tendency of spending on high end gadgets.

People in their 40s and 60s often have big children, with enough income to support themselves and their families, preferring to go on vacation and own a car. However, by spending a long time working and understanding the value of money, they will spend wisely and look for goods in places that both has quality but are worth the money.11 Acxiom12 states that “Consumers have to undergo many changes throughout their lives. As the stage of their life cycle changes, the behavior and priority of the different products will also change accordingly “.

CAREER A person’s career will affect the product he or she buys. The products we buy will serve our profession as well as assert our role in society. For example, doctors will have different shopping needs comparing to teachers, police, salesmen.... People who work on manual job mostly buy simple clothes for work, while senior staff love luxury suits.

ECONOMIC CONDITION Each person’s income will affect his/her ability to buy products. Income determines purchasing power of an individual and therefore, the higher the individual’s income, the greater the need for products..

LIFESTYLE Although they may have the same background, social class and status, each person has a different lifestyle. The lifestyle of an individual is the pattern of behavior that represents his or her physiology.

It involves the measurement of AIO (Activities - Activities including jobs, hobbies, shopping, sports, social events; I - Interest: Interests include food, fashion, family, entertainment. O - Opinion: Our views on ourselves, social issues, business, products). Not just includes the social class or in the personality of an individual, lifestyle has a broader implication which is worldview and how an individual interacts with the rest of the world. Therefore, shopping behavior is influenced by one’s lifestyle.

11 Personicx (acxiom, 2014) 12 A database marketing company collects, analyzes and sells customer and business information used for targeted advertising campaigns. (Wikipedia)

12

PERSONALITY Often when choosing the same function products, people usually buy stuff that fits their personality.

The individual’s personality influences the person’s buying behavior. Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics that distinguish one person or group. It is often described in terms of self-confidence, domination, sociality, adaptability…

CÁC YẾU TỐ TÂM LÝ MOTIVATION13 People are always have needs at any time. Some are biological needs that arise from neurological states such as hunger, thirst, or discomfort. Others come from psychological needs of recognition, desire or possessiveness. When demand is stimulated to high intensity, it will turn into motivation.

Psychologists have developed many theories of human motivation. In particular, the most prominent are the theories of Sigmund Freud14 and Abraham Maslow15.

Freud believes that events in childhood have a great impact on our adult lives, shaping each person’s personality. For example, anxiety stems unconsciously from a person’s past experiences of being hurt, and can cause problems during adulthood16. Thus, most of us are unaware of the impact of psychological factors on our behavior.

Freud’s theory is that the purchase decision of a person is affected by subconscious motives that even the buyer may not fully understand. Therefore, a middle-aged man could explain that he bought an expensive convertible car because he liked to enjoy the wind blowing through his hair. But at a deeper level, maybe he is trying to prove his accomplishments to others. Perhaps, the man may want to take back his youth and self-confidence like when he was twenties.

13 A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way. Desire or willingness to do something. (Oxford dictionary) 14 an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. (Wikipedia) 15 an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization (Wikipedia) 16 What are the most interesting ideas of Sigmund Freud? (Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology, 2018)

13

Abraham Maslow seeks to explain why we are driven by special needs at certain times. Why does a person spend a lot of time and energy for personal safety and another person to gain the respect of others? His answer is that human needs are hierarchical, from low to high that includes physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, the need for respect and self-sufficiency.17

An individual will try to satisfy basic needs first. When this need is met, it is no longer his/her motivation and we will strive to satisfy the next need. For example, people who suffer from hunger and thirst (physiological needs) will not be interested in what is happening in the world of art (the need to assert themselves) or to make people love, respect for oneself (Esteem need), regardless of whether they have fresh air or not (safety needs). However, when an important need is met, the next needs will quickly emerge.

AWARENESS18 A motivated person is ready to act. Our mode of action is dominated by perception of the surrounding situation. However, each person will have their own way to receive, interpret and organize information. Awareness makes us select, arrange and interpret information to form a meaningful picture.

In addition, human perception of something can change a lot from person to person, with each person creating a personal opinion of the stimulus (actor, action or condition). ) receive. Individuals receive “message” through five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Marketers use those senses to stimulate the consumer to try a product, thereby gaining awareness of the product, leading to subsequent purchases.19 17 A Theory of Human Motivation (Abraham Maslow, 1943) 18 The ability to see, listen to or be aware of something via senses (Oxford Dictionary 19 Role of Perception in Consumer Behaviour (Debbie Donner, 2017)

14

LEARNING When taking actions, people also learn. Learning describes the changes in an individual’s behavior from experience. Suppose you bought a camera from Brand X after consulting different sources. If this product is good, you will get the most out of it. And when you want to buy accessories for this camera or introduce to your friends, family, you will think of X products first because you have the opportunity to experience it.

In addition, the learning process does not necessarily come from the self but can be learned from observing the consequences of others.20 For example, you are in need of a skin care product. In the search process, refer to the information you notice the side effects of skin care A on many people, while skin care B helps restore many people’s skin. You will choose B’s skin care products for your shopping.

BELIEFS AND PERSPECTIVES Through action and learning, we form beliefs and perspectives. Then those beliefs and attitudes affect our own buying behavior. Belief can be based on knowledge, judgment, which may or may not include emotional aspect.

Humans also have different views on religion, politics, music, food and most other issues. A perspective describes a person’s judgement, emotion, and inclination toward an object or idea. The notion of putting people in a frame of mind about things like or dislike, about getting close to them or staying away from them.

The view is very difficult to change. A person’s perspective on a certain pattern and the change of perspective may require us to change a different perspective, which is often difficult.

For example, as indicated in the graph above, one of the biggest concerns of Vietnamese people is health and well-being. Consequently, many brands offer products as well as messages that best fit this view, rather than trying to change it. You can see Vinamilk’s advertising messages: “Healthy gift from nature” or “Healthy immune for family protection” or TH Truemilk: “Clean milk for school, improve physical strength and intellect.”

20 Consumer behavior: The psychology of marketing (Lars Perner, 1999)

15

Consumer buying process There are 5 steps in consumer buying process:

Clearly, in order to lead to purchase decision, we must go through the previous steps. However, in many cases, we often ignore or reverse some stages. A woman who is used to buying a shampoo brand will identify the need and then decide to buy the product, ignoring information search and evaluation phase.

16

Why can’t we stop buying?

So can we stop shopping when we understand the principles of its operation? The answer is no.

Here are some reasons why you might not be able to stop shopping: EXTREMELY TALENTED MARKETERS The economy is partly dependent on consumers – that is us. Companies use genius marketers to convince us that this is what we want and need (even if we really do not need it). Advertisers and marketers understand psychology of shoppers and they know exactly what they need to do to make us buy one or more items. And we did.

Nike, for example, is one of the world’s biggest sports fashion brands with a large market who are sports enthusiasts and fitness enthusiasts. Therefore, Nike targets its audience by sponsoring its products to teams, sports clubs at schools. In this way, they reach the majority of users and especially those who are able to pay for Nike products. Not to mention, Nike also has strategies that target their direct customers, such as athletes, sports players. These strategies include signing sponsorship agreements with professional sports teams, for well-known athletes. If the manager requires the use of specific Nike sports shoes, the team members have no choice but to buy them. 21 Or, as Zara - a Spanish fashion and clothing retailer with a focus on young, urban women. Zara’s stores always have new products. Even though the size of shops is big enough, the quantity of each product sold is always limited. This makes shoppers feel that the item they buy is unique. Besides, most of Zara’s products are only sold when they have enough sizes available. It helps shoppers feel comfortable and not bored when they know the clothing or accessories they want to buy has their size.

When you go into Zara’s stores, Zara’s reaction to you starts with creating the thought “Buy it now, because you will not see it the next time.” And with that kind of psychology, why wouldn’t you buy a shirt, a pair of pants… 22 In addition, together with the development of technology, finding and limiting groups of people who share the same need is easy. Therefore, you can see at any time when you surf the web, read newspapers, check facebook... you also see the items you love appear on the ads.

Not to mention, marketing campaigns such as discount, buy this one for another or pay a small sum to get a larger item ... all have the effect on the psychology of buyers and increase purchasing need.

21 Case Study: Nike’s Marketing Strategy (Marketbl, 2017) 22 If You Think Zara Does Not Do Marketing, Think Again.( Ira Kalb, 2016)

17

EVERYTHING BECAME SO EASY The development of technology is actively supporting shopping. A number of e-commerce23 channels such as Amazon, USA, Alibaba (China), Rakuten (Japan) or in Vietnam we are familiar with Lazada, Shopee, Adayroi, Tiki ... cater to the shopping needs of human.

According to research by PwC (Asia’s Leading Enterprise Service Provider), consumers use smartphones as their shopping channel everyday. Globally, the use of mobile phones for shopping has more than doubled in the past six years; 17% of PwC respondents said they used their cell phones for daily or weekly shopping24. According to the study, the fashion and accessory items are most popular, accounting for up to 77% among 18-24 year olds, 33% of which shop regularly.

According to another study by market research group (PMR25), among those under the age of 34, 68% bought online in the first six months of 2012. Most bought items were clothing and accessories, accounting for 61% comparing to the other goods.

Most favourite shopping items on the internet

26

` 23 Commercial trade that is done on the internet (Oxford dictionary) 24 Competing for Shoppers’ Habits (John Maxwell, Denise Dahlhoff & Claire-Louise Moore, 2018) 25 https://mypmr.pro/aboutpmr/aboutus 26 Nearly 70% of young people buy online (PMR, 2012)

18

E-commerce brings convenience to customers because you will not have to leave your home or office to buy the item you want especially to buy products that are not available in stores nearby. Simply browse the sales page or open a shopping application you trust.

In addition, e-commerce sites help customers buy more products and save time shopping. Buyers can research products, compare prices between retailers and make the best choice for them.

Besides, online shopping often offers promotions or discount codes, so it stimulates even more shopping than ever. For example, on the Shopee27, shopping page, in just 15 days (from June 1, 2018 to June 15, 2018), there were 16 promotions, discounts, vouchers for customers who shop online. On Lazada28 there is “Flash Deal” to sell many items from only 8,000 VND...

SHOPPING MAKE US FEEL HAPPIER Many studies show that shopping helps people balance their lives and eliminate negative thoughts, only focusing on their own positive sides. Feeling excited, satisfied when buying a favorite item will help clear up all fatigue, sadness or bad things in the day. Not only that, when shopping people will not immediately take the item you see but also consider, try the product, compare different type of product ... This requires them to use almost all their senses, no mind to think or sink in the negative thoughts, makes the spirit more uplifted and fun than ever.

In addition, shopping can help us increase the neuro-transmitter serotonin . If serotonin is reduced, it can cause boredom, diminished desire, reduced attention or easy anger, difficulty in completing work. When we find a good price, or something really beautiful, our brains will trigger the production of serotonin29. Hence, people will feel happy and light-hearted, even the novelty of the item also makes people feel more excited.

27 A product from Garena company - the top Internet platform provider in Singapore. This app allows Vietnamese users to buy from mobile phone in only 30 seconds, support buyers messaging to sellers to get support, fast payment and transaction (Brands Vietnam) 28 The e-commerce company under Lazada Group, is available in 5 Southeast Asia countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; is financially supported Rocket Internet – a German corporate specifies in e-commerce investment (Lazada Vietnam) 29 A compound present in blood platelets and serum, which constricts the blood vessels and acts as a neurotransmitter. Alternative name: 5-hydroxytryptamine; chemical formula: C10H12N2O (Oxford Dictionary)

19

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? “The earth provides enough for human’s need, not for human’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi.

24 hours a day, we use the air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. These are the basic needs of people. However, as incomes increase, people tend to diversify their consumption and “upgrade” their needs. New demand creates new markets, thereby creating the emergence of new industries.

These industries are expanding, achieving the optimum operation scale and through a continuous process of technological development and competition, creating incentives for goods, making them affordable for bigger market. Along with this process, more income generated boosts shopping demand. The circle is repeated30. People will want more, buy more, upgrade more, together with it is more pollution and waste.

The purchasing power of the people is most evident through the continued growth of retailers’ revenue.

The world top 10 retailers31 HEADQUARTER

REVENUE GROWTH (2010 – 2015)

% RETAIL REVENUE FROM FOREIGN MARKET

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

US

2,7%

25,8%

Costco Wholesale Corporation

US

8,3%

27,4%

The Kroger Co.

US

6.0%

0.0%

Germany

7.4%

61.3%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (formerly Walgreen Co.)

US

5.9%

9.7%

The Home Depot, Inc.

US

5.4%

9.0%

France

-3.1%

52.9%

Germany

8.0%

66.2%

Tesco PLC

UK

-2.3%

19.1%

Amazon.com, Inc.

US

20.8%

38%

RETAILER

Schwarz KG

Unternehmenstreuhand

Carrefour S.A. Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG

30 Industrial Development Report 2018. Demand for Manufacturing: Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development.

(United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2017) 31 Global Powers of Retailing 2017 (Deloite, 2017): the report analyzes performance and efficiency for the fiscal years ending in June 2016, using Deloite’s annual reports, Planet Retail databases, and other public sources..

20

In Deloitte32’s Global Powers of Retailing 2017, clothing and accessories are growing every year.

For three consecutive years, the industry’s revenue growth rate has been higher than that of other commodities such as fast-moving consumer goods, entertainment goods and others.

Retail sales of 45 fashion and accessories companies are among the top 250 companies in the world in 2015, increased 7.7% comparing to the previous year. In addition, most of the world’s largest clothing and accessories retailers are expanding globally. In 2015, foreign markets accounted for one-third of total sales of this sector.

This shows that people focus more on shopping clothes, accessories, beyond their need. According to a Greenpeace33 survey34 of shopping habits in Europe and Asia, two third of Hong Kong consumers admitted that they own more clothes than they need. This is also true for 60% of Chinese users and 50% of Germans and Italians. In addition, more than 50% of survey respondents in Hong Kong, China and 40% to 46% in Taiwan, Italy, and Germany said they had new clothes with tags on and never used.

I own more than I need

35

32 One of the four largest auditing firms in the world, provides consulting service on auditing, taxation, consulting, business and financial advisory services with more than 263,900 professionals worldwide. (Deloitte.com) 33 A non governmental organization has offices in more than 39 countries and has an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/) 34 The survey was conducted on at least 1,000 people aged 20-45 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Italy and Germany, from 12/2016 to 03/2017.

35 After the Binge, the Hangover. Insights into the Minds of Clothing Consumers (Greenpeace, 2017)

21

Garbage dumps are becoming giant “garment piles” - which we are throwing away everyday and still can be reused. In an online survey of Savers36 (30/1 – 17/2/2017) (30/1 17/2/2017) on over 2,006 people aged 18 and over, in the US and Canada showed that37:

54%

of survey respondents reported that they threw out unused clothes instead of giving to charity

>11 MILLION

tons of clothing and textiles are discarded each year, and 95% of which can be reused and recycled.

62% of people throw away their belongings and claimed that charity centers do not want to take them.

According to YouGov38, in 2016, 24% of Australians39 and 24% of Malaysians40 vdispose a garment product when they only use it once. In Vietnam, 43% of survey respondents throw away their clothes after the first wear41. According to this survey, the most common reason people discard garments is because they are no longer appropriate. However, the reason is simply because the trend is changing and the clothes are no longer trendy.

36 It is a chain of global antique shops, with a business model of buying discarded clothes, belongings, refreshing and reselling to those in need. (https://www.savers.com/about-us) 37 State of reuse report. Give A Sh!rt™About Your Clothing Footprint (Savers, 2017) 38 The world leading online market research company.

39 Fast fashion: Three in ten Aussies have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once (YouGov Au, 2017) 40 Fast fashion: 27% of Malaysians have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once (YouGov My, 2017) 41 Fast fashion: 43% Vietnamese attendants gave away or throw their clothes after the first use (YouGov VN, 2017)

22

It can be seen in the chart below that besides food, we shop clothing and luxury items on a daily basis. Electronics and cosmetics are two products that have been purchased over a long period of time (more than three months), due to the product’s features or because of their stable trend comparing to fashion; also because of their cost it is not easy to buy right away.

How often we buy these items sorting by sector and price42

The ongoing development of online retail system also shows that the demand for shopping is unlimited. In 2017, worldwide retail sales of e-commerce reached $ 2.304 trillion, increased 24.8% from 2016 and accounted for 10.2% of total retail sales worldwide.43

Retail E-commerce sales (billion USD) 42 Global Online Consumer Report (KPMG International, 2017) 43 Worldwide Retail and Ecommerce Sales: eMarketer’s Estimates for 2016–2021 (eMarketer, 2017)

23

HOW DOES OVER-CONSUMPTION AFFECT OUR LIVES? From what we have discussed earlier, it is noticeable that we human will keep on shopping and consuming. It is expected that there will be 3.2 billion consumers around the world by 202044.

Therefore, to satisfy human’s shopping need, companies and factories are exploiting natural resources with an escalating rate. So far we have used more than 160% of the resources that Earth can regenerate45. Every year, the “overshoot day46“ - ngày con người sử dụng hết tài nguyên mà Trái Đất có thể tái tạo được trong một năm lại đến sớm hơn. the date of year when human finishes consuming all the resources that Earth can regenerate, comes earlier. In 2008, overshoot day fell on August 15th, 10 years after that, in 2018, it became August 1st.47

Earth Overshoot Day 1 Earth

1,7 Earths

July 1st August 1st September 1st October 1st November 1st December 1st January 1st February 1st Source: Global Footprint Network National Footprint Accounts 2018

Natural resources depletion is the first problem that human needs to encounter in the consumption crisis.

Nature provides us with the necessary resources: energy for heating, electricity; wood for furniture, paper; cotton for clothing; construction materials for roads, buildings; food and clean water for living. However, the global ecosystem and the ecosystem services they provide are degraded: freshwater and forest reserves are shrinking, many species are threatened with extinction and fertile soil is being eroded48.

44 http://www.theworldcounts.com/ 45 IPCC special report: Emissions scenarios (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2000) 46 The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation, which partnered with Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign. At that time, Earth Overshoot Day fell in October. WWF, the world’s largest conservation organization, has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007.

47 Past Earth Overshoot Days (http://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/past-earth-overshoot-days/) 48 Global Environmental Outlook 4 (UNEP, 2007)

24

- According to World Resources Institute49 – WRI, tthe total lost forest area in the world has reached 29.7 million hectares (2016), tan increase of 51% over 2015, mainly due to deforestation for agriculture, timber extraction and mining.

- About 35,000 km2 of rainforest in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea has been replaced by palm plantations for oil production from 1990 to 2010, destroying natural habitat of many endangered species, some are extinct: elephants, rhinos, tigers, orangutans.50 - People extracts 70 billion tons of raw material per year and the highest consumption in history is 10.5 tons per person in 200851 - Every year, human exploit 55 billion tons of bio-mass, fossil fuel, metals and minerals from the Earth.52 - More than 30% of the world’s fisheries have exceeded their biological limits and are in need of strict management plans to restore them. Some important commercial fish populations (such as Atlantic Bluefin tuna) have reduced to the point where they need to be protected.53 - About a quarter of the coral reefs around the world have been completely killed and are unlikely to recover.54

Besides natural resources depletion, over-exploitation has a remarkable effect on the life, health and social security of many countries.

49 TA global research institute spreads over 50 countries with offices in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico and United States (http://www.wri.org/) 50 Consume Wisely to Conserve our Biological Resources (Council for Sustainable Development, 2016) 51 The material footprint of nations (Thomas O. Wiedmanna, Heinz Schandl, Manfred Lenzen, Daniel Moran, Sangwon Suh, James West, Keiichiro Kanemoto, 2013) 52 OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030 (OECD, 2008) 53 https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing 54 http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/coasts/coral_reefs/coral_threats/

Oil and gas exploration in the Niger Delta 55 Nigeria is now a democracy country, but has a long and brutal history of military dictatorship. The Niger Delta was once a rich ecosystem, a place where people cultivated on fertile land and benefited from abundant fisheries. With a maximum production capacity of 2.5 million barrels a day, Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer and sixth in the world56. However, most Nigerians do not benefit from this resource and this is one of the poorest countries in the world.57 Oil companies have turned the Niger Delta into a virtual wasteland that carries the “deep scar” from gas blasts and oil spills. The combination of the effects of oil spills and acid rain caused by atmospheric degradation has resulted in soil degradation affecting crop yields and harvesting. Fish can not survive in near-shore waters. As a result, traditional local economic development activities are nearly totally destroyed. And instead of being able to use locally produced products, Nigerians in the Niger Delta now have to depend on imported products. On the other hand, oil pollution has destroyed biodiversity in the Niger Delta, making it impossible to develop agriculture, which led to the majority of youth and women unemployed due to the unsustainable economic support system of fishing and aquaculture.

One example is the case of the community of people living in Bodo mangroves. Local people collect mangrove wood to build and create energy, fuel for life. However, due to continuous oil spills, oil has covered the plant’s breathing roots, killing the mangroves as well as the animals and marine life that depend on them.

In addition, the most worrying issue of oil pollution in the Niger Delta is an increase in diseases that were not previously known in the region. According to reports, these diseases have a correlation between exposure to oil pollution and the development of health problems. A research of scientists from Faculty of Pharmacy, Lagos University shows that more than 70% of water samples from the sea, rivers, boreholes, lagoons, beaches, etc., from the Niger Delta contains a chemical called Benzo, which has a high concentration of 0.54 to 4ug / liter, far exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 0.7ug per liter in drinking water. This is also reflected in the reality that people here have an increase in the occurrence of cancer and other health problems.

These diseases include respiratory problems, skin diseases such as rash and dermatitis, eye problems, digestive disorders, water-related diseases, and poor nutritional related dietary issues.

55 The Adverse Impacts of Oil Pollution on the Environment and Wellbeing of a Local Indigenous Community: The Experience of the Ogoni People of Nigeria (UN, 2007) 56 Nigeria National Petrol Corporation (http://www.nnpcgroup.com/) 57 The Poorest Countries In The World (https://www.worldatlas.com/)

Ecological tragedy in the Aral Sea, Central Asia The reduction of the Aral Sea is considered “one of the biggest environmental disasters in the planet.”58 The Aral Sea is a landlocked area of Central Asia, on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Previously, Aral Sea was known as the fourth largest reservoir in the world with 68,000 km2, only stood after the Caspian Sea, Lake Superieur and Lake Victoria. However, since the 1960s this area has been shrinking due to the flow of rivers was over-used in irrigation for cotton production in the region. By 1997, Aral waters had fallen to 10% of their original size, divided into four lakes: the North Aral Sea, the eastern and western basins of the South Aral Sea and a smaller lagoon59. Satellite image taken by NASA on 8/2017 reveals that the eastern basin of the Aral Sea was dried out completely60.

Aral Sea in 2000

Aral Sea in 2017

Furthermore, cotton production with the abuse of pesticide has seriously affected the health of people in this area. There was a significant increase in anemia, brucellosis, bronchial asthma, typhoid fever. Infant mortality and acute respiratory illnesses are also increasing.61 58 Aral Sea ‘one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters’ (The Telegraph, 2010) 59 Reclaiming the Aral Sea (Philip Micklin; Nikolay V. Aladin, 2008) 60 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/WorldOfChange/AralSea 61 The Aral Sea Crisis (Thompson, 2008)

27

Do you know that there are currently 85,000 chemicals used in manufacturing, processing and import62. These chemicals are contained in a wide range of everyday consumer goods such as food containers, water bottles, household hygiene products, furniture, shampoos, cosmetics, toiletrie…

Hazardous chemicals exist in the environment for a long time and are not biodegradable or not easy to be biodegradable. Since their structure is hard to break, they can remain in soil, water or ice for many years after being banned. DDT is a typical example. This is the first chemical widely used as a pesticide. After World War II, it was advertised as a magical chemical, a simple solution to solve from small to big problems. Today, almost 40 years after DDT is banned in the United States, its effects on the environment and human health are still being documented.63 Moreover, toxic chemicals can accumulate in the bodies of organisms over time, and they can spread through the food chain. For example, perfluorinated (PFCs) - a compound commonly used as an adhesive in cooking utensils, waterproof mats and can also be used in some food packaging, as well as in some fire proof materials. When these products are discharged into the environment and decomposed, PFCs also enter the soil and water and they are difficult to decay.64 PFCs can then be absorbed by organisms such as insects, small fish and other aquatic organisms. When they are eaten by larger animals, PFCs are also transmitted, moving to the next level of the food chain. As PFCs go up the food chain, they accumulate more - so the largest amount of chemicals is found in high-level predators like humans.65

62 63 64 65

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pesticide action network North America (PAN) Perfluorinated Chemicals (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, US) What are Hazardous Chemicals? (Greenpeace)

Clothing and the global poison cycle66 1) Compounds containing Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) and other chemicals are shipped to the fiber factory to make surfactants

2) Loose waste treatment regulations have helped discharging NPEs directly into rivers where they decay into nonylphenols (NPs) - a highly poisonous compound to aquatic organism.

3) NPs accumulate in sediments and increase along the food chain. They accumulate in body tissues and biomass (increase concentration through the food chain). Their similarity to natural estrogen hormones can disrupt sexual function in some organisms, most notably causing the feminization of fish.

66  Hazardous chemicals in clothing (Greenpeace)

4) Garments are produced and distributed throughout the world while the NPEs are in them. They are even taken to places where the use of chemicals is prohibited.

5) Washing process brings NPEs to water treatment equipment.

6) Water treatment does not remove the NPEs but essentially just accelerates their decomposition into NPs..

7) NPs - the hormone altered chemicals - end their life cycle in aquaculture systems, even in countries where NPEs are banned. And you know, when we eat seafood, unintentionally, we might also be accumulating NPs into our bodies.

30

That is what we hardly see when we go shopping and use products everyday. But that is not the end of the story. There are social inequality hidden behind it.

To attract us – the consumers – companies and businesses always seek for the best marketing campaign or simply keep the price low. They are all in the “Race to the bottom67. The ones who are affected first and most heavily in this race is labourers. Many companies and transnational corporations have kept low wages to protect their profits while still providing a competitive product to consumers. However, this also faces opposition and demands an increase in benefits or wages, which would increase costs. The solution is that many companies have shifted their production abroad, to areas where wages and benefits are lower.

Asia is now known as the “factory of the world” with its abundant and cheap labor. In particular, Korea and Japan are two areas specializing in software outsourcing. China and Southeast Asia have factories that assemble components and finish the final product. This model is called “Oriental Supply and Western Consumption”68.

Kids in Congo pay by the price of their future

Researchers at globalissues.org estimate that about 30% of students in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have dropped out of college in search of coltan69,70. TAccording to the UN report, child labor in Africa has increased significantly in coltan and diamond mines71. BBesides, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) report, there are around 1 million children aged 5-17 years working in ore and rock mines. These children are subjected to dangerous conditions and do not have access to schools, health clinics and other basic necessities72.

Besides, as mentioned earlier, the products we buy contain a substantial amount of chemicals.

People who have to suffer the most from toxic substances must be factory workers. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 2.78 million people die each year from work-related accidents or illnesses. Moreover, there are about 374 million job-related injuries and illnesses that are not fatal. However, in order to minimize the cost, many companies are willing to limit health insurance to workers whenever possible73.

67 “Race to the bottom” refers to the state of competition where a company, state, or nation tries to cut competitive prices by sacrificing quality or safety standards for workers, regardless of the rules pay them very poorly. Race to the bottom can also occur between countries and regions. (www.investopedia.com) 68 Future of factory Asia (Choi, Byung-il and Rhee, Changyong, 2014) 69 Coltan is a columbo-tantalite mineral mined in Africa. It is a very important raw material for the manufacture of modern electronics. When refined, this ore becomes tantalum, particularly suitable for using in capacitors, because of its power to hold high electricity. (Burge & Hayes, 2002) 70 Dial ‘C’ for Civil War (Jill Gregorie, 2007) 71 Stats & Facts on Child Labour in Mines and Quarries (Global March Against Child Labor) 72 The burden of gold Child labour in small-scale mines and quarries (World of Work Magazine No. 54, 2005) 73 Earth Economics – http://eartheconomics.org

31

Employees have to take care of their own health insurance

More than 60% of Wal-Mart’s employees (600,000 people) are required to either take health insurance from the government or from their spouses or live without any health insurance at all. Wal-Mart pushes the health insurance premiums for taxpayers and other employers, forcing employees to pay their medical bills themselves. Employees will pay an average of one day’s wages for health care coverage at Wal-Mart. With a salary of about $ 8 per hour, 29 to 39 hours per week, many workers have to rely on national programs, or family members, or simply live without health insurance.74

In addition, there are a lot of costs involved in producing goods (using water, waste treatment, contributing to climate change, paying for health care for sick workers, etc.) generated by the production but was ignored by the company owner. The owner of the company does not pay for those costs, but leave it to the public and the environment, they say “cost cutting”, meaning that it costs the others.

Therefore, the price of a product does not represent the real cost to make it. Many people pay for medical examinations, having to go further to find water after local water source was polluted or depleted, climate change effects, money for asthma and additional costs from the exploitation, production, distribution and destruction of things. If some part of the cost of producing a product is incurred to a third party - the party that has no way of entering or benefiting from the trade, then economists say that the cost of production has been reduced, and the sale price is lowered. Another way to cut costs is to convert product costs into costs that are handled by the community.

For example, logging corporations contracted with Mitsubishi to exploit the forests of the Penan Sarawak tribe, but they did not have to pay for the indigenous culture destroyed.75 Retailers keep profits from cutting costs. Consumers have the benefit of buying cheap goods as an incentive, using finite resources in an ineffective way.

For example, the greater the cost to environment and society in production being cut, the more cars are consumed and used. Urban sprawl, more and more paved land, more and more pollution, petrol reserves dried out quickly, many want to build highways than public transport, pavements, road for cyclists.

Instead of requiring that these costs be included in production costs, corporations have advocated limiting government regulations, pointing out savings for consumers regardless of the consequence on society and environment. They advise localities to become more competitive internationally, attract investors due by providing them with more favorable conditions, more opportunities to reduce their costs through various subsidies, low labor costs, poor environmental regulations, and reduced taxes.

That means the cost of production is not reflected in the price, or in other words, we do not really pay for what we buy.

What we know is that the material economy means shopping while the exploitation, production, and disposal are occurring out of sight to us. So, although we have more stuff than ever, polls show 74 The Wal-Martization of Health Care (United Food and Commercial Workers, 2007) 75 Mitsubishi’s unsustainable timber trade: Sarawak (E. Wakker, 1993)

32

that happiness index is decreasing. This index peaked in the 1950s76, at the same time the explosive shopping syndrome boom, what a coincidence!

We have more stuff but less time for things that really bring happiness: family, friends, and free time77. We’ve been working harder than ever. Some experts say that we now have even less free time than in feudal society.

Do you know what two major activities we do in our free time are? According to W & S’s market research, two indoor activities that we usually do in our free time are surfing the internet and watching television. In addition, two outdoor activities are shopping and coffee with friends. In Vietnam alone, 75.5% of survey respondents chose surfing the web and 56.8% went shopping for leisure.78 We are in an irony situation when, after a long day of hard work, we throw ourselves on the sofa / bed, watch TV or surf the internet and see the ads encouraging you to go to the shopping mall or faster, purchasing an item online to feel better. And then we have to work harder to pay for the things we just bought. And when we’re tired of going home, watching TV or surfing the Internet, advertising again drives us to go shopping and then we’re just going to keep going around the circle of watching ads and shopping.

In the end, what happened to the things we bought? At this rate of consumption, our homes do not have enough space. They will all become garbage.

550 biggest landfills in the world

76 77 78 79

79

Deep Economy (Bill McKibben, 2007) The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure (Juliet Schor, 1992) Report on lifestyle study in thailand, indonesia and vietnam in 2015 (W&S market research, 2016) Waste Atlas: The World’s 50 Biggest Dumpsites (Report on2014)

33

Jam Chakro in Pakistan is one of the world largest landfills, stretching over 202 hectares. The dock serves ‘areas’ of 5,000 people and affects the lives and health of an additional 5 million people living within 10 km of the surrounding area.

Among the world most hazardous landfills, the Agbogbloshie landfill in Accra, Ghana, receives about 192,000 tones of electronic waste annually. It causes soil, air and water pollution and serious health damage to 10,000 people doing scavenging work from sorting to recycling.

Bantar Gebang in Bekasi, Indonesia, consumes 230,000 tons of municipal solid waste each year, with an estimated 28 to 40 million tons of waste are treated80.

Our modern world has become dependent on the convenience of available plastic products, like disposable bags, bottles and cups. In a report of the “International Coastal Cleanup 2017”, the program has collected more than 8,000,000 kg of garbage on a total of more than 24,000 km of coastline.

80 Global Waste Management Outlook (International Solid Waste Association General Secretariat, United Nations Environment Programme, 2015)

34

According to a study by the University of Plymouth, one-third of fish caught in the UK have plastic inside. The impact of eating contaminated fish is largely unknown, but the risk is large enough to warrant a warning about the risk to human health and safety by the Food Safety Authority Europe in 2016.

Many birds inadvertently eat plastic and other debris floating in the ocean, mistaken them for food.

Many marine life can not distinguish plastics from the food they use every day. They eat plastic and often starve to death because they can not digest plastic while it fills their stomach. Birds and other large animals are often trapped in plastic bags, fishing lines and other debris. Sea turtles are especially sensitive. Over time, the plastic breaks into smaller pieces. Eventually it becomes small enough to enter the bloodstream of marine life. Because organisms can never digest or process resin, it persists until the organism dies.81

All these garbage – the stuff we bought – will either pile up on landfills or be burned in incinerators and then be dumped into landfills.

Are the incinerators good? No, they are really bad82. Remember the amount of toxins produced during the production phase. Burning garbage releases toxic substances in the air, or worse, creating new toxic substances83 such as dioxin84. According to Pham Trong Thuc, Director of the Renewable Energy Department, the General Department of Energy, 85% of waste in Vietnam is being buried without treatment at landfill sites, 80% of which is unsanitary and polluted the environment.

81 Plastic Pollution Primer and Action Toolkit (Earth Day Network, 2018) 82 Tangri (2003); Incineration and Human Health by Pat Costner, Paul Johnston, Michelle Allsopp (2001) 83 Costner et. al. (2001); Playing with Fire theo Pat Costner và Joe Thornton (1990) 84 Also known as Agent Orange. Name of a super strong and toxic compound. Dioxin causes cancer. In 1994, the draft EPA re-evaluated the effects of dioxin. It is estimated that level of dioxin, such as those found in the general population, can pose a risk of cancer from 1/10000 to 1/000, 100 to 1000 times higher than the usual acceptance risk - 1 / million. This is also the type of poison that the United States sprayed in the Vietnam war, left severe consequences until now (dioxin contaminated land can not survive, trees can not grow, causing muscle variations on human body...)

35

In addition, some companies now do not want to face the construction of a landfill or incinerator, so they exported garbage85.

How about recycling? Is recycling useful? Yes, recycling has contributed to reducing waste and it has reduced the pressure on mines and extraction of many other resources. But recycling will never be enough for the following reasons: First of all, the amount of waste from our homes is just the tip of the iceberg. With each trash can you put on the sidewalk, 70 other trash cans are filled up to produce the stuff you put in your trash.

Even if we can recycle 100% of our household waste, it is not the core of the problem.

There are many types of waste that can not be recycled because they contain too much toxic substance, or because they are actually designed to not be recycled from the beginning. Take a look at the packaging of the packed juice made of layers of metal, plastic, paper stick together. You can never separate them for recycling.

A woman organizing plastic bottles to recycle in Xá Cầu village, just outside of Hà Nội. Photo: Reuters / Kham

EVERY PROCESS FROM EXPLOITATION, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, CONSUMPTION AND DISPOSAL HAS EFFECTS EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY TO OUR LIVES, TO COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, MOST OF THESE IMPACTS ARE NOT FULLY AWARED OF.

85 Watch: The International Trade in Wastes: a Greenpeace Inventory, Jim Vallette and Heather Spalding (1989). Documentary “Exporting Harm” of Basel Action Network,

WHAT CAN WE DO TO BECOME WISE CONSUMERS ?

Here are some tips that you can easily apply to change your shopping behavior.

Before going shopping - Create a list of items to buy and just list the items you really need - Check your wardrobe to avoid buying items that are already available - Eat before shopping, so it will help you focus on shopping instead of paying attention to your “stomach�.

- Consider using public transport, bicycles or walking if the store is not too far from where you are.

- Do not forget to bring cloth bags with you

-

When buying vegetable and fruit

-- Buy only the quantity you need and calculate how you can use them before the expire date - Buying fresh food instead of pre-packaged products will save you some of the cost, as well as more delicious and reduce waste.

- Buy fruits and vegetables seasonally, because of the otherwise is likely to be imported and have high preservative reserves.

- Avoid the temptation of buying multiple offers, focus on the list you have set. Other stuff may seem good value at the time but will be a waste of food if you can not use them before the expire date.

- Buy from local markets.

- Consider growing your own vegetables at a small corner in your home.

Meat and fish - Avoid those with too much package - Buy meat at local stores from butcher and local market - Choose foods labeled as food safety

Clothing and accessories

- Buy old clothes from secondhand shops that are still usable - Exchange clothes with friends - It is not necessary to buy clothes or accessories just because they are new released.

Electronics - The first thing to check when buying electronics is the energy saving label.

- Consider whether you need to buy a new one. Maybe you can repair old ones or get from somebody else.

Detergents

Every home has a bathroom cabinet and chemical detergents, which not only affect the environment but also the health of the family. Instead, look for: - Natural cleaning brand - Buying in bulk to reduce packaging and energy needed to transport it.

- Buy the product that can be refilled  

PART

02 Integration of sustainable shopping into education

39

SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING Definition

You may have heard about concepts such as Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Living, or Sustainable Economics ... but the concept of Sustainable Shopping can be quite new to many. The concept of “Sustainable Consumption” is announced at the Oslo Symposium. It is defined as “the use of services and related products that meet basic needs and provide better quality of life while minimizing the use of hazardous materials and resources as well as emission, waste and pollutants in the life cycle of service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations.”86 And shopping is in the cycle of consumption. Thus, after compiling information from a variety of sources, the author of this guidebook would like to provide an understandable definition of “Sustainable shopping” as follows.

Sustainable shopping is the purchase of products that serve the needs of human, bringing about a better life while minimizing the use of natural resources and the negative impact on environment.

Benefits of sustainable shopping

Sustainable shopping has benefits not only for ourselves but also for the environment and society.

Some of the benefits include: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Sustainably produced products have little negative impact on the environment.

As explained in Part 1 – “How does over-consumption affect our lives?”, the production of a product must go through many stages and processes that affect our Earth. If we pay close attention to and carry out sustainable shopping, this will contribute to the reduction of the volume of new products, thus contributing to biodiversity conservation, minimizing the consumption of fossil fuels and raw materials, as well as limiting the discharge of toxic substances into environment.

HEALTH PROTECTION The use of environmentally friendly products ensures the health of consumers. In addition, as mentioned above, sustainable shopping helps to protect the environment. When the environment is protected, human life is protected. The lake will not be polluted by waste of factories, land and water are not polluted by untreated waste. The food we use daily is not contaminated by water, land resources. Our health is protected.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND CREATE JOBS A part of sustainable shopping is shopping local as much as possible. This means that your money is transferred right to the producer, minimizing the ecological footprint of transportation from other areas. In addition, shopping local helps local businesses develop and promote job creation for local residents 86 Norwegian Ministry of the Environment (1994) Oslo Roundtable on Sustainable Production and Consumption

40

PROTECT LABOUR FORCE As mentioned in Part A, workers in mass manufacturing factories are subjected to wage inequities and health problems. Sustainable shopping also contributes to the fight for the fairness of those workers.

If you refuse to use inexpensive, mass-produced products, companies, plants will not cut production costs. The worker will also have a better working environment.

COST SAVING Sustainability and minimalism go hand in hand, because all it takes is just to buy what you need.

A great place to start is to buy your clothes from environmentally friendly brands and look for sustainability. Although these costs may initially be higher than those of fast fashion garments, they are often designed from higher quality materials to last longer. Besides, instead of buying something new on every occasion. You can check around your house, find some way to coordinate between the outfits you have. And so you will not need to buy a new set of clothes, the cost of clothing will also decrease.

In addition, shopping at local stores and doing home cooking also saves you a great deal of the cost for imported food or eating at restaurants.

Roles of stakeholders in sustainable shopping GOVERNMENT Promoting sustainable shopping requires support from government and state agencies. This means that the government can guarantee all the basics of good governance; economic and financial capacity, security and law, and the elimination of corruption.

Important alternatives government can execute may include: • Support for research and development of sustainable production and improvement of regulations and standards, subsidy changes and taxation.

• Transform government shopping towards sustainable shopping.

• Provide policy stability • Helping consumers to head towards sustainability and challenge unsustainable shopping. This includes introducing incentive policies that encourage consumers to purchase more sustainable products.

State subsidies for non-sustainable products should be revoked.

• Infrastructure investment alignment: The government does not always own or build infrastructure in its own country. However, they are the key to deciding what to build and where. Therefore, the government needs to assess the environmental damage and the impact of the project on natural resources.

• Strengthen communication on sustainable production and consumption, from production companies to consumers.

41

BUSINESS Businesses exist to provide products for people and bring in profits for themselves. But that’s not the whole story. To survive and prosper in the long run, businesses must go beyond short-term profit motives, act as responsible members of the local, national and sometimes global community and avoid harming human and the environment.

They play a central role in the transition to sustainable shopping. Multinational corporations have tremendous power to influence governments and regulation, to shape livelihoods through investment decisions and their employment practices, and influence tastes and behaviors of consumers. Unilever has argued that “for companies to reach the desired scale, companies must move beyond corporate social responsibility and address poverty and sustainability issues as part of their core business strategy.”87 Seeking business opportunities from sustainable shopping: research, development and building market for sustainable products.

• Understand the social and environmental impacts of all raw materials, processed and manufactured in the supply chain, reduce harm to people and the environment and increase the benefits, ensure business against resources scarcity by developing sustainable alternatives.88 • Reduce or eliminate waste of resources and energy by reusing or recycling, take more responsibility for the impact of products on consumers.

• Helping consumers to be more sustainable: Companies are closely linked to consumers, so companies need to build an understanding of sustainable products for consumers. The power of advertising and marketing needs to be focused on this, instead of creating ongoing demand for new products.

• Improve the lives of workers and employees CONSUMERS Changes in the production of goods can not be alone in the development of sustainable shopping.

Changing consumer behavior and attitudes toward shopping is extremely important.

Awareness and responsibility for sustainable shopping among consumers will put pressure on producers and help drive their operations and suppliers towards sustainability. It will also provide politicians and governments with a political space to bring regulations, policies and market tools to promote social mobility towards sustainable shopping.

Changing the heart, mind and behavior of a human seems to be a difficult task. It must be shared between civil society, government and businesses. And not every consumer will have to be persuaded. The challenge is to change enough people to promote sustainable shopping based on social standards. Many of them have started, or want to start the journey.

In developed countries, almost all consumers have to reduce their carbon, water, soil ... so that their ecological footprint does not affect the entire population of the Earth. It implies that the total volume of products they buy will have to be reduced. But a deeper, broader change is needed in the values and attitudes of people - a relation to solidarity, responsibility and sense of community and less individualism.

87 Private Sector Outreach A Summary of Unilever’s Programme of Private Sector Outreach on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (Unilever, 2013) 88 Resource Revolution: Meeting the World’s Energy, Materials, Food and Water Needs (McKinsey Global Institute, 2011)

42

Guide to sustainable shopping BUYERARCHY OF NEEDS While Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” looks at the structure of needs that influence our choices and shopping behaviors, a new hierarchy of human shopping needs is created by Canadian painter Sarah Lazarovic called “Buyerarchy of Needs”.

Look at the hierarchy, buying behavior is considered as the final level after we try all remaining actions at the lower levels. This image is a great way to consider your choices before buying an item.

So before you buy an item, take a look at the following: • Do you already have something like that available?

• If not, can you borrow from someone?

• If no one can lend you, can you exchange something for the one you need from others?

• If that is still difficult then buy a used product but it will still work as expected.

• You can not find a used item to buy, can you try to make it yourself?

• Finally, if you really can not do all the above actions, then buy them.

SAY NO TO WHAT YOU DON’T REALLY NEED One of the core principles of sustainable shopping is to refuse the things you do not need. Take time to think about your buying behavior, maybe 2-3 weeks to make sure you really need it.

43

Also, do not forget to ask questions to make more informed decisions: • Do you need it?

• Can the item be used more than once a week?

• Does it serve more than one purpose?

• Is it unique?

• Will it enrich your life?

If you answer all the questions above, and think about it for about 2-3 weeks, you still feel that you really need that stuff, then buy them.

UNDERSTAND THE SOURCE OF YOUR PRODUCT Before shopping, to evaluate a product, you should consider the source and type of material that produces it, the source generates it, the cost of production and transportation, the life span and the possibility of reuse or recycle.

Therefore, look for certifications to help determine whether the product is sustainable. According to the Seattle Art Institute, one of the best approvals is from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The FSC label ensures that forest products are used from the sources were collected and verified responsibly. Another symbol to look for is the recycle symbol and digital encryption, which consumers can use for personal recycling. Moreover, you should consider whether the product is recycled or not. In addition, one of the best approaches consumers can take is to buy locally produced products, which means lower carbon emissions.89 89 Shop Sustainable: How to Know What Products Are Environmentally-Friendly (Amanda Ray, 2012)

45

SOME BEST PRACTICES Buying fashion items Considering the sustainability of each set of clothes, shoes or accessories you buy can be a challenge. The easy way around this is to look at the different aspects of your purchase and to support businesses with a sustainable approach to fashion. So how to shop for clothes, accessories more sustainably?

Always ask questions before deciding to shop for a pair of clothes or shoes or accessories.

• Do you need more black pants, or skirts, or trousers?

• Do you have a similar piece of clothing at home?

• Do you like this new item better than what you already own?

Often when we can not find something to wear, it’s because we have too many clothes to choose instead of not having enough. Simplify and minimize your wardrobe and Besides, do not forget to pay attention to the fashion brand you intend to buy whether it is sustainable or not. That shows the outfit you are buying has been calculated for its impact on Earth, as well as the brand has plans to replicate what it has taken away from the planet.

Also, consider clothing or accessories that are made from recycled or environmentally friendly materials. Wherever possible, choose clothes made from recycled or environmentally friendly materials. These products will have less negative impact on water, soil and air when you stop using them. Even better, buy old clothes from charity shops and secondhand stores.

And finally, do not forget to check how your product is packaged. Are the fashion items you buy over-packaged? This can be especially relevant when shopping online. Choose products with less packaging and remember to bring reusable shopping bags from home instead of using nylon bags.

Furthermore, you can also recycle or reuse some clothes. If your wardrobe really needs refreshing and shopping is inevitable, it is time to recycle your old clothes. Clothes in good condition can be given to friends and family, taken to charities or secondhand shops or selling through online forums.

Giving gifts One year we go through many big holidays like Tet, Christmas, Halloween, International Women, International Children... Not to mention special days for individuals such as birthday, anniversary...

That is the time we give each other meaningful gifts. So how to achieve the purpose of keeping beautiful memories while minimizing the impact of the gifts we buy and receive each year on this planet?

Do your loved ones really need it?

Always keep in mind the fundamentals of sustainable shopping: avoid buying new, reduce buying, reusing and recycling. Try asking your loved ones if they really need a gift or souvenir you are buying. Is there any other way you can use as gifts rather than materials?

46

Is your present locally produced?

Wherever possible, choose your locally produced gifts, from the materials or origin of your region.

Local shopping will support the local economy and employment, while reducing energy costs and emissions associated with transportation.

The same approach applies when you travel - buying gifts and souvenirs locally produced instead of imported items and trying to buy directly from sources to ensure your money has the best impact to the local community.

Is your gift made from bio-degradable or recycled materials?

Wherever possible, choose biodegradable gifts, gifts made from recyclable materials or gifts made from recycled materials as much as possible. These products will have less negative impact on our environment once you have done using them. Avoid gifts and souvenirs made from wildlife and ensure that any wood products are made from sustainable sources.

How is your gift packed?

Does your gift need extra packaging? For example, you buy your girl-friend a new dress on her birthday. Do you need to put it in a box, wrap a colored sheet of paper, attach a ribbon, and then put it in a nylon bag to give to her? You can try wrapping your own gift from old papers or newspaper; or simply give her a dress directly without having to wrap it in anything.

47

WHY INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING INTO EDUCATION? Gen Z or Generation Z is the generation born entirely in the technological age, warfare against terrorism and multiculturalism.90 Therefore, Gen Z consumes and processes content much faster than other generations. They quickly sort through large amounts of information through the use of five monitors at the same time: smartphones, tablets, TVs, laptops and desktops. More than that, today’s teens have their own phones since elementary school or high school, compared to high school or even college for the older generation. Both Millennials and Gen Z are quickly adopting new technologies, but while Millennials are pioneers of smartphones, young people are living entirely in its development era.91 By 2020, Generation Z will be the largest consumer group worldwide, accounting for 40% of US, European and BRIC countries, and 10% of the rest of the world 92. Therefore, the integration of sustainable shopping into teaching is very necessary. This helps young people take an early look at sustainable shopping, responsible shopping, and change their perceptions and behaviors, changing their daily shopping habits, avoiding negative impact on the planet.

However, changing the habits of people is not easy and difficult to achieve results in just overnight.

This requires a lot of investment, perseverance and a rational approach. In order for an individual to make the choice of buying and change lifestyle, he or she must have a basic understanding of how to act and be motivated and willing to do it. We can give others this opportunity through education, training, or simply by incorporating information into other activities in a clever way.

90 https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Generation%20Z 91 How To Win The Hearts Of The Gen Z Consumer Base In Eight Seconds (Forbes Communications Council, 2017) 92 Gen Z Shopping: Designing retail for the constant state of partial attention (Fitch, 2015)

PART

03 Methodologies to integrate sustainable shopping into educational activities for youth

49

This guidebook not only focuses on providing information about the topic “Sustainable shopping” but also pay attention to the procedure and tools to design trainings, activities, models and organization skills which will help to shift awareness and encourage actions of young people.

However, behavior change and vision formation are not easy and can not be rewarded with result in short-sighted time. This requires the investment of hard work, consistence and appropriate methodology. For an individual and a community to take sustainable action, they need to have basic understanding, know how to act as well as have strong motivation and desire to take part in. We can equip this to others by education, trainings or simply integrating information into other activities in a smart way.

FORMS OF INTEGRATION Sustainable Shopping is an everyday life topic. However, with the development of society and economic, it is not easy to be aware of how much is enough to buy. Therefore, integrating this topic into programs and activities for youth in and out of formal education is very important to guiding their mindset towards a less material world, a greener lifestyle and a better future for the Earth. Following are suggestions on some forms of integration that teachers, trainers and planners can use to bring the topic Sustainable Shopping to young people in a practical and exciting way.

INTEGRATE INTO TEACHING PLAN, EXERCISE, RESEARCH Topic Sustainable Shopping can be approached from different angles and has a correlation with many fields from economics, environment, and production to technology, tourism, art… Therefore, the possibility to integrate this content into teaching subject is very potential. Professors, teachers can use this topic as example or give supporting information for the lecture depending on the specific lessons.

For example: Introduction of the sale strategy of retailers in a marketing lesson, The impact of shopping on nature in an environment lesson, Research on the history of natural dyed fabrics on a fashion design lesson…

Besides, in order to let students approach actively with this topic, teachers can assign exercises or orientation to look into,

50

research more about the topic such as assignment to design an clothing outlet using environmentally friendly materials, develop a branding plan for a company with natural products…

In many cases, personal research, scientific research for students can be used to integrate topics related to Sustainable Shopping. For example: research on “The sustainable development plan for retailers” or “Sustainable shopping in the digital era”…

INTEGRATION INTO TRAINING ACTIVITIES Extra-curriculum training is an effective way to introduce deeper about a certain topic to students. Depending on specific conditions in terms of human resources, time, venue, finance…, these training can be organized accordingly. For example: in the limited condition of time and resources, trainers can organize a short sharing for 2-3 hours about “How to shift your shopping habit” in a venue of the university. With the same topic, you can choose to invite some experts on sustainable consumption or a representative of a green company to share with students for 2 hours, or organize a game integrating information about sustainable shopping.

One characteristic of this method is that the number of participants should be limited because it can interfere with the quality of the class. Depending on specific method being used, each training should have around 30-40 participants.

The more interactive activities there are, the less people should be involved. With a talk show or a movie show, the number of participants can be bigger. Besides, since this is a highly practical topic, you need to pay attention to experiential activities. Not only introducing students to knowledge, let them be in touch with tree, soil, vegetable and fruit in these lessons.

In the next section, we will introduce in details some suitable methods to use in training course about Sustainable Shopping.

INTEGRATION INTO FIELD TRIPS This is a highly practical activity which usually attracts the participation of many students. A field trip usually lasts for at least half a day (without transportation time) and can be limited in the number of participants due to the specific location of the trip.

A field trip requires more investment in preparation and organization because the visiting venue is usually outside of university. Depending on the local condition as well as available resources, trainers/organizers can choose from a

51

diverse range of location related to the topic such as: visiting a green company producing groceries products, visiting a zero-waste store, a tailor factory using environmentally friendly materials…

Give students many chances to practice what they have learnt in these field trip. For example: dye fabrics with natural color, minimal shopping…

When there is no sustainable model available, trainers can organize for participants to experience and analyze an existing model and give comments, opinion and suggestion to change it towards a sustainable way.

INTEGRATION INTO EVENTS This is a familiar form of integrating a topic to students in university since they usually have extra-curriculum events happening during all school year. These events can be varied from competition, exhibition to fair, performances or a combination of different forms. Events usually have a big communication impact and can reach a much bigger audience than training courses or field trips.

Another interesting point of integrating into events is that students can participate from the planning and organizing process along with teachers. This will help them to level up in personal skills and have a better chance to research about the theme or main topic of the event.

Some examples about event: a barter fair, green fashion show, green market (with environmentally friendly products)…

Around the worlds, there are many campaigns and events organized to encourage “reduce, reuse and recycle”. For example: Mottainai93, Garage Sale94… TIn Vietnam, recently there was a Mottainai 2017 “Give love, receive happiness” organized by Vietnamese Woman Magazine, Recycle fashion show named “I’m Hufliter” in Hochiminh city University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology. Happening more frequently are Saigon Flea Market95, Le Rustique Chic Yard Sale96…

93 Mottainai is a term of Japanese origin that has been used by environmentalists. The term in Japanese conveys a sense of regret over waste. Japanese environmentalists have used the term to encourage people to “reduce, reuse and recycle”, and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai used the term at the United Nations as a slogan to promote environmental protection. (Wikipedia) 94 Garage sale is a campaign initiated in America. It started when families clean up their house or move out and do not want to bring all the stuff with them, they then open their garage to sell or give a way what they no longer use. (Wikipedia) 95 Established in 2011, Saigon Flea Market is a market in Hochiminh city selling old goods or inventory with vintage style.

96 Một dạng thanh lý đồ cũ của các Fashionista

52

SOME TRAINING METHODS There are several facilitation methods that help participants to brainstorm and constantly think of ideas, be active and help them to understand better.

Following are some effective training methods, you can also use other methods that are available.

Experiential learning cycle One highly recommended method that can increase the efficiency of training and integration is experiential learning cycle, or it can be called “lessons translate into actions” (Felicia, 2011). David Kolb, an American theory educationist proposed 4 steps of experiential learning model as follow: EXPERIENCE

APPLICATION

SUMMERY

PHÂN TÍCH

How can we design a training based on this learning model?

First and foremost, the role of trainer/teacher or facilitator (hereafter we will use the word “trainer” for short) is to assist participants to learn and apply the lesson correctly. Therefore, before designing an integrated lesson plan, trainer needs to clarify what the core focus of the training is.

Trainer can follow this step-by-step guide:

Trainer can follow this step-by-step guide:

01

Analyze participants

Where are they with this topic? What is their attitude towards this topic, are they eager to learn? How much do they know about the topic? How much have they practiced or applied?

What do they need to learn and how do they want to learn?

It is difficult to convey a large amount of information in 90 minutes and expect that participants can understand, remember and take action. Since we have established that this topic is new to our participants, we can focus on the main objective is to help them understand and know how to list basic necessities to avoid buying stuff that only last for a short time.

53

02

Identify learning objectives

The learning objectives need to be very clear so that you can design its content easily and appropriately.

For example: what should learners receive after 45 minutes, after 90 minutes?

In order to identify the objectives, you need to answer two questions: what are the objectives? (skill or knowledge, or both?) at which level?

For example: the objective can be that students will understand the concept or they understand and can repeat or they understand and can explain from their point of view?

03

Design experiential activities

Experiential exercise is one of the most important indicator defining the success of your lesson. Learners will conclude the lesson points for themselves after going through each experience designed by trainer.

Therefore, the experiential exercise needs to be closely related to the topic for learners to be able to analyze. Experiential activities can include: listen, watch, smell, taste, hands-on, feel or deep thinking.

However, note that these activities should create emotion, excite learners and make them think deeply.

04

Design analyzing activity and summarize the lesson

At this step, trainer will ask questions about the activity for learners to recognize their own experience, come up with deduces and lessons.Organize a simple game for students to apply what they have learnt: “List what you have bought last month”.

05

Design application activity

Application activity is the part where trainer can suggest how learners can relate from lesson to reality. The application activity has different levels: relate to real life, apply to act, and apply to go deeper into the lesson.

To help you get a clearer understanding of “Experiential learning cycle”, we would like to provide a detailed example.

54

Sample lesson design Topic: Minimalism STEP 1: ANALYZE PARTICIPANTS Participants are students in the age of 18 – 22, who enjoy shopping and usually spend their free time for extra activities, social network (facebook, instagram), hanging out with friends or going shopping.

You observe that this group of students are eager to learn and are familiar to everyday shopping but do not have basic knowledge about sustainable shopping. They might know a lot about environment but have not com across the concept of minimalism.

We identify that students need to learn some basic and general information. The lesson should be cheerful and interactive with group and individual activities.

STEP 2: IDENTIFY LEARNING OBJECTIVE It is difficult to convey a large amount of information in 90 minutes and expect that participants can understand, remember and take action. Since we have established that this topic is new to our participants, we can focus on the main objective is to help them understand and know how to list basic necessities to avoid buying stuff that only last for a short time.

STEP 3: DESIGN EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITY The message of this lesson is heading towards minimalism and detachment from materialism, therefore it is important to make choice of which is important and what is necessary. We can give participants figures about the impact of short-life stuff on the environment, or the amount of natural resources needed to produce one-time use stuff that they are familiar with. These figures should surprise and shock them and at the same time have relation to participants to make them aware of their actions.

STEP 4: HOW TO CONCLUDE AND SUMMARIZE THE LESSON After the experiential activity, we can ask students some questions to conclude what they learn: What have you seen? (Let participants conclude after calculating how much natural resources needed to produce what they have been using everyday) • How do you feel? (Check their feeling and let them think of do they really need all those stuff) • Why it has come to this? (Let students think of why they shop more than they need) • What can you do next? (Let students think of actions they can do, prepare for the next step – Step 5).

55

STEP 5: DESIGN ACTION PLAN Organize a simple game for students to apply what they have learnt: “List what you have bought last month”.

In this game, we can identify which student like shopping, which have a better attitude towards sustainable shopping from asking: “how many pants/shirt/dress you have bought last month, do you really need them, any among them you can borrow or use secondhand?...”. You can ask participants to take the challenge: If you have to choose to buy only 1-2 items per month, what would you buy?

Afterwards, let participants make shopping plan for the next month. It will encourage them to think and give more concrete actions other than only think of what have been mentioned as example. You can use group activity in step 4 or 5 to increase interaction among students.

THIS IS A SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF APPLYING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TECHNIQUE INTO LESSON PLAN. BASED ON THE MESSAGE OF EACH LESSON, THE EXPERIENTIAL PART CAN BE DESIGNED ACCORDINGLY.

56

Best practice analysis

Relevant examples are usually provided as story-telling, best practices or case study. This tool is being used widely nowadays for the objective of inspiration. Sometimes knowledge about sustainability might be seen as “theorical”, “too idealistic” or even “dreamy”. Therefore, showing true stories with real people doing real actions will help make the sustainable picture become clearer and more realistic. The closer the case to learners’ life context, the more persuasive it would be.

Main values of best practices: • To be examples (to understand complex issues); • To create emotions (learners will interact with real people in real life with true experience); • To be proves (of what has been done of is being done) Using this method, trainers can fulfil many objectives such as: • Draw attention of learners (have you imagine that…?); • Check learners’ knowledge (do you know that…?); • Provide proves for their argument (it shows that…); • Help learners to connect theory and practice; • Develop critical thinking (what would you do in this situation?) and understanding about complex relationship among economics, social and environment in one country; • Raise awareness and encourage actions from learners (what can we do to achieve this?)

Some notes when using this method: • Case-study need to be well prepared and checked for its credibility and update (is it still working? Is it available?)

• Avoid using controversial cases with too many opposite opinions and do not have a credible source to check.

• Even if the lesson time is limited, you should provide enough information for learners to connect from the best practice to themselves and their living condition. Providing more references for learners to research deeper on their own afterwards is highly recommended.

To assist the best practices or case studies, trainers can collect more documents like scientific researches, maps and statistics; professional experience and successful stories in order to hold activities or develop in-depth learning.

Following are some examples of best practices for topic Sustainable Shopping that trainers/ teachers can use as reference.

NATIONAL LEVEL Many developed countries have shown interest in encouraging sustainable shopping with concrete policies to get people’s attention into this issue. Taken actions can be issuing compulsory standards and labels, change tax and cost on unsustainable products, subsidies and incentives, communication campaign to raise awareness, education…

Some best practices: • Ireland: apply tax on plastic bags. Retailers will add environmental tax on the price of single use plastic bags. The tax will be shown separately on the bill, the cost for each plastic bag is 22 cent (5000VND). This tax fee is supposed to encourage consumers to choose reusable bad and change their awareness towards waste. The money comes from this tax will be put

57

in Environmental Fund. This Fund supports environmental initiatives and waste management.97 • The Netherlands: the government and non-government organizations applied green quality card named “Nu Spaarpas”. In the 8 month pilot during 2 years of 2002 – 2003 in Rotterdam, more than 10000 citizens participated in collecting “Nu Spaarpas” points by waste separation, shopping in local stores that joined the program and buy green products.

“Nu Spaarpas” points can be used to buy sustainable products and service, to use on public transportation or buy culture tourism tickets.98 • Japan: the land of the rising sun published a campaign called Cool Biz in 2005 to reduce CO2 emission by encouraging people to dress simple while going to work and business man can get rid of vest and tie to minimize the use of air conditioners.99 • North Europe: In 2005, The Nordic Consumer Protection Commission (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) passed a guideline on Ethical and Environmental Marketing Statement to expand previous regulation on marketing including social and ethical issues such as child labour, working condition and relationship to Third world countries.100 BUSINESS Business companies and retailers work directly with consumers. They are the key stakeholders in changing shopping habit of consumers.

Walmart – the world biggest retailer On their global market, Walmart made an effort to reduce waste generating from products or byproducts that we usually do not notice. This includes: • Switch to reusable containers: In Canada, Mexico, Britain and United States, Walmart uses reusable packing containers (RPC) to replace cartons and plastic wraps.

According to a report of Franklin Associates, a leading RPC provider, a simple shift to RPC in production can reduce 85% waste and 31% green house gases emission, at the same time raise awareness of customers.

Switching to RPC requires some changes in infrastructure and activity. For example: ASDA store in Walmart Britain is running 9 service centers to collect and wash RPC beside the regional contribution centers for frozen food, where RPC is used. In 2017, ASDA reused more than 1.25 million stray and eliminated packaging from carton.

• Lengthen products’ lifespan: Walmart built 4 renewal centers in The US, where they send broken and returned phones, tablets, TV, computers and game remotes to fix and resell with a discount. In 2017, Walmart sent more than 6 millions items to be refurbished.

Besides, Walmart brings inventories or stuff that customers return to charity organizations such as Good 360, Harvest Time and United Way. 97 Citizens Information Board is the statutory body which supports the provision of information, advice and advocacy on a broad range of public and social services. (http://www.citizensinformation.ie/) 98 NU-Spaarpas. The sustainable incentive card scheme (Paul van Sambeek, Edgar Kampers, 2004) 99 Promoting sustainable consumption: good practices in OECD countries (OECD, 2008) 100 The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA)(www.kkv.fi)

58

I:CO or I:Collect The company collects, reuses and recycles used clothing and shoes. I:CO collects in partner locations around the world such as Levi’s, H&M… and then carefully sort the items and either reuse or recycle them ensuring maximum reutilization of these valuable materials.

How it works:

MỚI

MỚI

Consumers bring in their used clothing or shoes to the participating stores (that connect with I:CO) and are given a reward incentive like a gift card or cash.

High-quality sorting and evaluation follows the international waste hierarchy of reuse before recycling.

Preparation for Recycling: Material identification and separation is a vital part of the recycling process.

From an ecological viewpoint, it is best to reuse clothing and shoes. Wearable items are therefore kept and sold as second-hand goods.

Some unwearable items can be used for production of new clothes.

The recovered fibers are spun into yarn and can be integrated into the supply chains.

After separating the material from old clothing and accessories, the recycled fibers are reused for products in various industries such as insulation material for the automotive and construction industries.

Besides, many green products have been produced, which encourages consumers to use more environmentally friendly products. At the same time, there are more policies and incentives to promote the use of sustainable products.

Papa’s Dreamer This brand produces natural soap hoping to bring safe and close to nature experience for people living in cities who can not wash by boiling herbs everyday.

Each soap was made directly from olive oil and coconut oil by coldprocess101, tadded with turmeric powder, green tea powder or oat powder.

101 Find out more about making soap by cold process at www.soapqueen.com

59

More importantly, Papa’s Dreamer has their ethical regulation, which are: • Limited daily product amount To ensure quality and dedication to each patch of soap with care and happiness • Say no to: Palm oil Animal testing Plastic in the whole process • Friendly materials: Main ingredients are olive oil and coconut oil Together with natural herbal powders that are good for skin Use natural essential oils • Manual process: Made directly from plant-based materials and alkaline salts at low temperature, waited for 8-10 weeks to make sure soaps get to their neutral pH level.

KILOMET109 High fashion brand created by designer, artist and eco-entrepreneur Vũ Thảo. Kilomet109 is an environmentally friendly fashion brand which aims to conserve the Vietnamese abundant traditional garment and fashion heritage.

Using organic fibers and traditional techniques of vegetable dying, Thao works with her team of local artisans to grow, spin, weave, color and print Kilomet 109 fabrics. After that the garments are hand-stitched in her studio in Hanoi.

60

VŊ Thảo experiments with natural dyes in her home studio – Photo: Julie Vola

Modeling

Modeling technique is activity to imitate situations in real life. It firstly requires a model that represents the characteristics, behavior and function of the chosen system or process.

Modeling provides experience closest to reality, however it has an edge of letting participants edit the scenario and try different strategies or alternatives. This would allow participants to solve the situation by applying their gained experience.

Modeling is a highly flexible teaching tool that can be used in most major, this also means the way to do it can vary. The key to modeling is to be vibrant, not fixed, with the scenario changes along with actions of participants.

For example, a lesson for students of tourism major to modeling a tour guiding guests to an ecovillage. In this place, people live in harmony with nature, using their own currency, stores only sell local products. This section will model exactly what might happen in reality where students will work in the future with tourists keep making requirements and ask questions during the tour.

A similar exercise related to master plan of a sustainable community for students of architecture or business major.

To design modeling section successfully, it is important that the scenario is concrete and makes sense.

61

SMART Goal Model

Shifting shopping habit relates to personal level. There might be external factors to this shift, however, if one does not have the need and take action then changing habit would become very difficult with daily lifestyle.

SMART Model will support participants in making clear of their objective, focus their effort, time and resources effectively and increase the chance of success in changing their habit. This model can be integrated into lesson plan as a learning tool.

SMART is short for:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Timely

S MA R T G

O

A

What do you want to do?

How will you know when you’ve reached it?

Is it in your power to accomplish it?

L

Can you realistically reach it?

S

When exactly co you want to accomplish it?

SPECIFIC(S) Decide what you want to do The first step in setting your goal is deciding what you want to achieve. In this stage, you can be somewhat general. No matter if it is a long term or short term goal, most people start generally. You turn this general goal into something more specific by adding details and identifying time.

For example, your initial goal is to reduce shopping. Knowing this is the first step to create more concrete goal.

Specify it The chance of completing a concrete goal is better than completing a general goal. Therefore, your task in this stage is to analyze your thought at the previous stage into something more detailed. Most problem lies in identifying the time.

Following the example above, you should ask yourself “what does it mean to reduce shopping?” Does it mean stop shopping at all? Reuse what is available? Borrow what you need? Consider everything related to shopping depending on what you want to do.

62

Identify who is involved A good way to set your specific goal is asking 6 questions: Who, What, When, Where, Which and Why. Starting with “who is involved?”

If the goal is to reduce shopping, of course you are involved. However, in some long term goal you need help from others.

What do you want to achieve?

This is a basic question about what you hope to get.

If you want to reduce shopping, ask for clearer “what”. What are the items you want to reduce buying?

Identify location Identify where you will execute your plan for the goal.

If you want to reduce shopping, you can stop hanging around purposeless on the street, reduce using digital equipment like phone, computer, tablet.

Think about the time Create a timetable and deadline to achieve your goal. This will need to be focus on at the end of your process. For now, just look at the big picture.

If the goal is to reduce the items you buy by a half, you can reach it in a few months. On the other hand, if your goal is to live minimally and detach from materialism then it might take a few years.

Decide the requirement and limitation What do you need to achieve your goal? What obstacles might lie ahead?

If your goal is to reduce shopping, the requirement is not to spend over money budget and not buy more clothes in the next 3 months. Obstacle is how to deal with your crave of wanting to buy something new.

Why you bring up this goal?

Give concrete reasons and benefits to achieve this goal. Understand the why is very important to see if the goal is relevant to your need or not.

For example, imagine your goal is to reduce buying new items by 50% with the reason of wanting to save money for your next trip. If your goal is saving money rather than reducing thrash, you can always choose another way to get it.

MEASURABLE Create some way to measure the result Nhiệm vụ của bạn là đặt ra tiêu chuẩn thành công. Điều này giúp bạn dễ dàng kiểm soát quá trình và biết khi nào bạn đạt được mục tiêu. Tiêu chuẩn có thể về số lượng hoặc chất lượng. Nếu có thể hãy đề ra con số cụ thể cho mục tiêu. Như vậy bạn sẽ nhận ra mình có bị tụt lại hay không.

Ví dụ, nếu mục tiêu là hạn chế mua sắm, bạn có thể đặt mục tiêu số lượng là giảm 10 món đồ bạn

63

Your task is to set a target for success. This helps you control the process and know when the goal is achieved. The target can be qualitative or quantitative. If possible, give a number for it. Then you can check if you are behind the plan or not.

For example, if your goal is to reduce shopping, you can set a target of 10 items less per month. You know what you usually buy a month, then it should be easy to identify when the goal is achieved. A qualitative target could be “I want to fit in the jeans that I bought 5 years ago”.

Ask questions to sharpen your focus You can give many questions to ensure your goal can be measured: + How much, How many? For example: How many items you want to reduce? + How do I know if I’m about to achieve it? Do I record daily what I buy or count it at the end of the month and compare between months?

Check and keep track A trackable goal will help you to identify whether you are on track or not.

For example, the goal is to reduce 10 items per month. Starting from the first day of the month until the 15th, you do not buy anything then you know that it is very likely you will achieve the goal. On the other hand, if it is nearly the end of the month and you are about to buy as many as last month, then maybe it is time to change your strategy.

Write diary This is a good way to keep track on your effort, result and how you feel about it. Spending 15 minutes each day to write diary or journal would help you note down details and reduce the stress of getting to the goal.

ATTAINABLE Know your limitation You need to guarantee that your goal is achievable. If not, you will soon be discouraged. Consider the difficulties and challenges you might meet, access your chance to overcome them. To get your goal, you need to face challenges. The question is where you can surpass your challenge or not.

Be honest to yourself about how much time you will spend on this goal, as well as your background, knowledge and physical limitation. Think of the goal feasibly, if you can not see yourself achieving it, then choose a new goal.

For example, your goal is to reduce shopping. If you can commit to not logging in e-commerce sites everyday, not wondering around stores and saying no to friends asking you to shop, know what you need and do not need then maybe you can achieve the goal of reducing 10 items per month. But stop shopping completely could be impossible.

Write down your limitations on a piece of paper, it will help you visualize the big picture of your task.

Evaluate your commitment Even with the goal that is theoretically achievable, you need commitment and hard work to earn it.

Ask yourself: are you ready to commit to this? Are you willing to change your life more or less? If

64

not, is there any other goal that is more attainable that you are ready for?

Your goal and your commitment go together. It might be easy to commit to reduce 10 items at first, but target 30 items is too much. Be honest with how much change you are willing to make.

Set an attainable goal After considering challenges and commitment, you can adjust your goal if needed. If you think your goal is attainable, move to the next step. If not, adjust it. You are not quitting, you only make the goal more feasible.

RELEVANT It reflects your need Link closely to the feasibility of your goal, this is the R in SMART. The question is whether you can achieve the goal by yourself or not. It is a good time to come back to question “Why”. Ask yourself whether this goal is something you really want to do or is there anything else more important.

For example: You choose a birthday gift for your friend. You can easily buy some cosmetics that she usually uses. However, it might concern you because that will lead to waste. Then why don’t you buy her a cup of coffee, invite her to dinner or make her a cake.

Consider other goals and conditions You need to consider if this goal is consistent to other plans you have. Conflicts between plans can create many problems. Or to put it another way, see if the goal fits in your life or not.

For example, your goal is to reduce what you purchase a month. But you also want to take good care of your skin and a large portion of what you buy is for skincare. This is conflicting. You might need to re-consider both goals here.

Adjust your goal If you think your goal is relevant and not conflict with other plans of yours, you can move to the last step. If not, you might need to re-think a little.

When unsure, go towards your passion. If your goal is what you really care for, there is a higher chance you will complete it than something you only have little interest to. A goal helps you achieve your dream will be more motivated and meaningful to you.

TIME-BOUND Choose a deadline A goal needs a deadline or when it will be considered finished. Making a timetable or timeline will help identifying the concrete actions you need to take to achieve your goal. It eliminates the vague “sometime in the future” that might sounds encouraging. If you don’t have a timeline, you will not have much motivation and pressure to finish and might end up being discouraged.

Create smaller milestones Especially with long term goal, you should divide it into smaller goals. This would help you calculate and monitor your progress.

For example, your goal is to live minimally for 6 months, you can create a target of reducing 5 items for the first month and increase 2 items for each following month. This might sound easier than the general goal and make the goal become more consistent. If you find it too much, you can adjust.

65

Focus on short-term and long-term goal Based on the timeline, as yourself: What can you do to achieve your goal?

If your goal is to live minimally in 6 months, daily goal can be making a list of things you need to buy, cross out 1-2 items you think not really necessary, using questions like: “do I really need this? If yes, can I borrow it from someone? Can I make it from materials around the house?”

What can I do in the next 3 weeks?

The answer can be: reduce time surfing the internet where you can see promotion and discount marketing every 5 minutes.

What can I do in the long run to achieve my goal?

Focus on reduction of un-necessary purchase. Create a habit of asking question before you buy something. You can think of un-install some shopping apps on your phone.

Besides directing participants to use SMART models, trainers might take note of some points below:

• List important milestones of the process. You can reward yourself after completing small milestone. A small encouragement will motivate you.

• Try listing human resource and other resources you need to achieve your goal. This will help you to come up with a suitable strategy.

• Do not list out too many goals if you can not prioritize them. You will feel overwhelmed and hopeless.

After introducing SMART, you can give them a task to apply this model.

PART

04 Recommendation for training program

67

There are many methodologies and content to be used to build a training program. In this guidebook we would like to introduce some recommendations together with examples of organization methods.

SAMPLE 1: IN CLASS – STORY OF STUFF ` • Learning objective: - Participants will understand the life circle of a product. From then, they can be more aware of how what we buy and consume is hurting the planet and ourselves.

- The lesson provides a general view about this topic for later lessons.

- Create an opportunity for participants to think about the impact of consumption and be open to different perspectives about it.

• Duration: 90 minutes • Agenda: NO

1

2

CONTENT DURATION

Warm up

First approach of how a product is made

5 - 10 minutes

DETAIL

PREPARATION

Game: Find out what make up a cell phone How: Divide the class into small Markers groups. Each group is given a set of Set of tag papers made tag with different parts of equipment on from 1 sided papers. it. Their task is to classify and choose which of the parts are component of a cell phone.

Hold the cell phone and ask participants: - Where are the materials that make up this cell phone from? Which part of nature and on Earth did they come 10 minutes from?

- Where was it produced?

- In your opinion, what has it been through before reaching our hands?

68

NO

4

4

CONTENT DURATION

The life circle of products

Conclusion

DETAIL

PREPARATION

Watch the video clip “The story of stuff” In depth discussion: - What do you like in the clip?

- Is there anything you do not like in the clip?

- Which questions raised up when you Projector, screen 20 minutes watched the clip?

Video - How do you feel when you think of changing your relationship with stuff you throw away? What can make it more difficult/easier to throw them away?

- Any value remains?

20 phút

Sum up ideas from participants, come up with the concept of products’ life circle Projector, screen Present some facts and statistics about the impact of shopping on the planet and human being.

Summarize lesson learnt

SAMPLE 2: IN CLASS – INTRODUCTION ABOUT SHOPPING AND SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING • Learning objective: - Participants understand the concept of sustainable shopping and its relationship to stakeholders.

- Participants are aware and understand the necessity of sustainable shopping in the current context and its linkage to every aspect of life.

• Duration: 90 minutes • Agenda NO

1

CONTENT

Warm up

DURATION

5 - 10 minutes

DETAIL

PREPARATION

Marker Game: what have you bought last week Set of tag paper How: list on papers, each item on one small made from 1 piece of paper side papers

69

NO

2

3

CONTENT

Introduction to shopping

DURATION

10 minutes

Impact of stakeholders 45 in sustainable minutes shopping

DETAIL

PREPARATION

Raise questions: • What is shopping?

• What are different forms of shopping?

• The negative impact of shopping on the Projector planet and on our lives?

Screen Trainers choose 2-3 answers for each question from participants.  Presentation: introduction about shopping and the impact of shopping habit on our lives and on the planet.

Group activity Divide the class into 3 groups, each group will discuss about the impact of one in three stakeholders in shopping: • Government • Business • Consumers Trainers give 3 concrete examples: • Nu Spaarpas campaign of the government of The Netherland • PaPa’s Dreamer brand • Ms Heidemarie Schwermer – a moneyless woman in Germany who founded Projector “Give and take” – the first model in Germany Screen that exchanges goods, skills and do not use money.

Follow up questions: • How did the policy in The Netherland impact shopping activity? Why do citizens support Nu Spaarpas campaign?

• Walmart is the world leading retailer, what benefit would they get when they support sustainable shopping? What benefit would consumers get?

• How can human live independent from stuff? How can we limit the number of stuff we buy everyday or every year?

70

NO

4

CONTENT

Conclusion

DURATION

20 minutes

DETAIL Sum up answers of participants Summarize lesson learnt

PREPARATION Projector Screen

SAMPLE 3: PRACTICAL LESSON – SHOPPING EXPERIENCE This activity will bring participants an experience of a shopping day. The learning objective is for participants to know how to make shopping plan, understand which products is necessary, which is vital, which is not needed and can be crossed out.

• Duration: 90 minutes • Preparation: - Eco-bags (for all groups) - Ask participants to bring notes and pens - 200,000 VND put in an envelope for each group • Steps: - Divide the class into small groups (4-5 members each) - Hand out eco-bag and envelope to each group - Mission: with 200,000 vnd, prepare a birthday party for those in the class that have birthday this month. The birthday party must include: sweet food for 5 persons, decorations and at least 1 gift.

- Time to shop: 60 minutes (Choose location in walking distance to a market or supermarket) • Brainstorm questions: - Before shopping, what you should do to make sure you can get enough items with limited budget?

- What would you do if you don’t have enough money?

- Is it necessary to buy new decoration?

- Is it necessary to buy something for a present?

- Which products should you choose to have a fun yet green party?

• How to submit result: After 1 hour, all groups come back with what they buy, present about why you buy those products and the impact it might have on the environment.

• Evaluation: Trainer gives feedback, comments and recommendations for each group.

SAMPLE 4: FIELD-TRIP With the topic shopping, trainers can choose many locations for field-trip such as: visit a sustainable company, a store that sells natural products, a family in the class, a non profit organization that supports sustainable entrepreneur, a garbage dump, a mall/market.

71

You can choose the location based on: (1) Objective of the field-trip (2) Resources available: time, human, budget In this section, we would like to share a plan for the field trip to Papa’s Dreamer Natural Soap workshop.

• Duration: half a day • Learning objective: Participants understand how to produce a natural soap, how they build business regulation that fits consumers while respects the environment.

Participants can practice making natural soap Participants can link this to their life.

• Agenda: No

CONTENT

DURATION

DETAIL

1

Opening

15 minutes

Introduction about Papa’s Dreamer and get to know each other

2

3

Practical activity

Summary

2 hours

30 minutes

- Learn about natural soap - Learn the brand’s development policy and incentives to encourage sustainable shopping - Practice making natural soap Sharing Questions and answers Create personal action plan related to using environmentally friendly products (changing shampoo, soap, find out more about environmentally friendly brands…)

The Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, not for every man’s greed - Mahatma Gandhi -