Hyundai Department Store "Stops Providing Plastic Disposable Containers... Voluntarily Reduces 200,000 Units"

Hyundai Department Store announced on the 17th that it has decided not to use plastic disposable containers for its free fresh food trimming and packaging service. Although inconvenience to customers using the service is expected in the early stages of implementation, the company plans to expand its eco-friendly management.

An employee is handing a product in a reusable container to a customer at the 'Fresh Table' food hall on the B1 floor of Hyundai Department Store Trade Center branch located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Hyundai Department Store]

Hyundai Department Store operates the ‘Fresh Table’ service, which packages fruits and vegetables sold in the food hall in portions according to customer preferences. According to the new decision, customers must prepare reusable containers in advance to use the Fresh Table service for free, and if they do not bring their own, they must purchase reusable containers to use the service. Reusable containers of 1.2ℓ are sold for 1,000 KRW each, and 2.7ℓ containers for 1,500 KRW each.

The discontinuation of disposable containers was piloted at the Trade Center branch on the 1st of this month, and will be gradually implemented at four stores including Apgujeong Main Store, Sinchon Store, The Hyundai Seoul, and Pangyo Store by January next year. Yang Myeong-seong, Executive Director of Sales Strategy at Hyundai Department Store, explained, “The sales growth rate of fruits and vegetables at stores that introduced Fresh Table is more than twice that of stores that have not introduced it. While discontinuing disposable containers may cause customer inconvenience and sales decline, we have boldly changed the system to voluntarily reduce plastic usage and take the lead in eco-friendly management.”

Hyundai Department Store expects to reduce 6.2 tons of greenhouse gases annually by eliminating disposable containers from Fresh Table. Considering that about 220,000 plastic disposable containers are used annually at Fresh Table and producing 1 kg of plastic generates 2.4 kg of carbon dioxide, discontinuing disposable containers is equivalent to planting 2,258 30-year-old pine trees.

Revenue from the sale of reusable containers will be used for the ‘Climate Action 1.5℃ School Challenge,’ an educational program promoting carbon-neutral living practices for future generations. The Climate Action 1.5℃ School Challenge is a climate action practice program conducted by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Education since 2020 to spread a culture of carbon-neutral practice.

Hyundai Department Store has been a pioneer in adopting environmentally friendly systems. Last year, it became the first in the distribution industry to introduce a priority electronic receipt issuance system. Although there was the inconvenience of having to separately install or update a mobile application (app), active participation by customers led to the replacement of about 130 million paper receipts annually with electronic receipts. Since March last year, the company has been running the ‘365 Recycle’ campaign, which continuously collects clothing, accessories, and old smartphones for recycling.

A representative from Hyundai G.F. Holdings, the holding company of Hyundai Department Store Group, said, “From an eco-friendly perspective, we will reconsider even the smallest details and boldly improve systems if necessary.”