On the outside, this brightly-lit shop might seem like another convenience store, but step inside and you'll soon notice that things...are not so convenient. Instead of plastic-packaged snacks and single-use products that you can mindlessly buy and throw, shelves at The [Not-So] Convenience Store are stocked with bamboo toothbrushes and coffee cups, mini solar chargers, compost buckets and even menstrual cups.
The sophomore edition of The [Not-So] Convenience Store by Temasek Shophouse has a clear message – we waste too much. Globally, the volume of waste exceeds 2 billion tonnes every year. Singapore alone generated 7.23 million tonnes of solid waste in 2019, enough to fill more than 14,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It's time we invested in environmentally-friendly and sustainable products for the good of the Earth – even if they cost us that little more inconvenience.