(VOVWORLD) - By reusing second-hand items, consumers can save money and protect the environment. This is the goal of a project to move toward a circular economy in Vietnam, a joint effort of Cho Tot, a marketplace platform in Vietnam, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Institute of Strategy for Natural Resources & Environment Policy (ISPONRE).
 The exhibition “Living New with the Old” takes place from June 17 to June 20, 2022 in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)
|
The project involves activities to inspire people to take action to create a circular economy of sustainable consumption.
The first activity of the project was an exhibition called “Living New with the Old”, held last month in Hanoi, featuring 10 installation artworks made from recycled newspapers, household items, footwear, and electronic devices.
The exhibit made viewers aware of the harmful effects of excessive shopping and see that quickly buying every new thing shortens product life cycles and puts greater pressure on the environment.
Tran Minh Tuan, a resident of Hanoi, said, “I’m quite impressed by the artwork called ‘Kien tao (Construction), which uses cassettes, air-con controllers, and mobile phones to form an outstretched arm, reflecting the development of society and reaching the pinnacle of technology, but people can still reuse old things.”
According to Nguyen Thi Hien, another Hanoian, “I’ve never before seen artwork created from baskets, pots and pans, footwear, air-con controllers, and old phones, all of which were once very familiar to me.”
”For a long time, I’ve had the habit of either giving or throwing away old items. But after seeing this exhibit, I think maybe I should reuse old things or buy used items that are still good and avoid discarding things to reduce the impact on the environment,” said Hien.
 The the artwork called ‘Kien tao’ (Construction) (Photo: VNA)
|
The 10 artworks on display were created by young artists from Hanoi and HCM city to encourage people to change their current shopping habits.
Hoang Thai Ly, a lecturer at the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, said, “Each object has its own life and has gone through ups and downs. Many of the objects are older than I am, but I decided to use them to create something new. This idea inspired me to make this work, which I call ‘A new path’.”
“The Cho Tot platform was established about 10 years ago and is creating a trend of reusing old items. The work called ‘Green sprout’ refers to giving old things a new life with new owners.”
The 3-day exhibit was well attended in Hanoi – by hundreds of visitors every day.
The exhibit has been converted to 3D images and posted on the website chotot.com to reach more viewers.
Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc, Chief Growth Officer for Cho Tot, said, “We’ll hold more activities and encourage users to deduct part of the money spent in transactions on Cho Tot. Our platform will donate to community organizations that support environmental protection and sustainable consumption, for example, the community of waste bottle collectors, who quietly collect plastic waste and play a vital role in recycling it.”
According to the Carousell Recommerce Index 2021 created by the Singapore-based Carousell Group, a leading classified advertising group in Southeast Asia, about 83% of Vietnamese people purchased used goods last year and planned to continue buying second-hand items.
Using second hand items to create new things is becoming one of the top concerns of young people, especially Gen Z, the generation leading the consumer trends of the near future.