Former call center agents open first zero-waste store in Cebu

The newly opened “Amgu” store.  / Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines— A newly opened grocery store in Cebu City encourages its patrons to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle.

When visiting the store, buyers are required to make sure that they bring their own refillable containers because the store does not provide plastic containers for the food and other products that they sell. They do not also offer sando bags.

Called “Amgu,” this store located in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City also sells products that are made of organic materials like  shampoos and soaps, utensils, lip balms and oatmeals refills among others.

“Our primary goal is to raise awareness on the impact of plastic in our environment and to introduce ways on how to reduce the use of it. We want the people to know that there is an eco-friendly alternative for most things that we are accustomed to” said store owner Ivy Jane Sumabong.

Sumabong, 28, co-owns the store with Rangi Joy Madarang, 36.

Well aware that making a lifestyle shift is not easy, Sumabong said that reducing the presence of plastic containers and food packs in every Cebuano home is already a good start.

“Although it’s difficult to perfect such lifestyle, however, we focus on the process and we try to raise awareness as much as possible,” said Sumabong.

All Organic

Wooden cutleries made of Acasia wood. /Photo from the Amgu FB page

When visiting “Amgu, ” shoppers will get to see a variety of food and non-food products that are made of organic materials.

The store sells handmade abaca scrubbies that are a good replacement to dish washing scrubs that are made from synthetic/plastic materials.  They also have cacao nibs and wooden cutleries made from Acasia wood.

“It’s a little bit pricier than the ones coming from China but (these) are very durable and of course, made locally! 🌱,” said an advisory posted on their Facebook page.

Organic soap found on their shelves were made by farmers and locals of Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur. They also have moringa, turmeric, and lemongrass powder which can be used either as ingredients for cooking or as powdered teas.

“Every purchase of these soaps provide additional livelihood opportunities to the local organic growers in Zamboanga. Not to mention, these are very affordable, crushing notions that anything organic is expensive,” says a post on the FB page.

“Aside from advocating a low impact lifestyle, we at AMGU also support social enterprises that help local farmers, fishermen, and NGOs through fair trade.”

Raising Awareness

Sumabong and Madarang used to be call center agents who quit their jobs to sell organic products online. Sumabong opened her online business last year while Madarang had hers two years ago.

When they met last year, they decided to merge their businesses and open their grocery store in a leased apartment unit in Barangay Kamputhaw. They had the soft opening of their store on April 21, 2019 and plans to have the formal opening on a still undetermined date.

The two friends turned business partners named their store “Amgu” which means awareness in Cebuano.

“We choose to use the vernacular version of the word as it hits close to home since both of the owners are from Visayas and Mindanao” Sumabong said in an interview with CDN Digital.

Being environmental advocates themselves, Sumabong and Madarang thought that by opening their store they would “create ripples around them and would encourage people to start living the organic and eco-friendly way.” /dcb