Don Don Donki brings back plastic bags after 7 months of discontinuance
Plastic bags are back at Don Don Donki, seven months after the Japanese supermarket chain stopped offering them at a price.
The new plastic bags - which will be available starting May 19 - are biodegradable and eco-friendly, and will cost shoppers five cents each, it said on the same day.
They are specially designed to break down naturally over time and reduce any impact on the environment in the long-term, helping the chain better support customers' needs yet remain environmentally responsible, added Don Don Donki.
"We continue to encourage all customers to bring their own reusable bags whenever possible," it said in a Facebook post.
Don Don Donki, which has 17 outlets locally, previously stopped the sale of plastic bags on Oct 1, 2024.
Before that, customers who needed plastic bags paid 10 cents for each transaction until July 2023, when plastic bags at the store cost five cents each.
Some netizens voiced their support for the latest move, while a minority remain sceptical on whether biodegrable plastic bags would make a substantial positive impact on the environment.
Facebook user Pang Kia Nian, who supported the move, said that he stopped shopping at Don Don Donki as often after it discontinued its shopping bags in 2024.
He explained that this is because most trips to its outlets are an impromptu affair, and customers like him would leave when they realise it would be difficult to carry items home.
Another user Timothy Kao raised doubts as to whether the carbon footprint of a biodegrable bag would be lower than that of a plastic bag without any print on it.
User Daniel Sng said: "Maybe (Don Don Donki) can provide free plastic bags and reward customers with a small discount bringing their own bags."
Kolette Lim for The Straits Times