For those for whom the sheer trendiness of carrying around their own set of chopsticks hasn’t convinced them to jump on the of “my hashi” bandwagon, perhaps a little monetary incentive will.
The Marche group of restaurants has been offering a point system for “my chopsticks” users, awarding one point for every time a customer brings their own utensils. 10 points equals at ¥500 discount off the next meal. Over 46,000 customers all over Japan have since signed up for the system and those who frequent a particular Marche restaurant can enroll in the chopstick keep system, which allows regular customers to store theirs at the restaurant.
Of the 736 Marche restaurants around Japan, 464 are participating in the keep system.
Meanwhile, popular lunch buffet restaurant, Yokohama Cruise Cruise has joined the movement, offering a ¥300 discount off the ¥2100 lunch price for customers who bring their own chopsticks.
They even provide a washing service for your chopsticks so you don’t have to ruin your lunch out by getting your hands dirty afterwards.
The eco bag is still by far the most popular of the current wave of environmentally friendly products on the market, followed by recycled paper products, toilet paper made from recycled paper, organic vegetables, and personal water bottles, reported the Nikkei Marketing Journal last week. Although it looks like personal chopsticks are making a play for the top.
Kudos to Marche and Yokohama Cruise Cruise for bringing attention to the vital issue of disposable chopsticks. Hopefully, they will inspire other responsible restaurateurs to recognize the great good that they can do by moving back to dependable, safe, re-usable chopsticks, and save millions of acres of forest in the process. Thank you for your good work.