Hoi An, Vietnam, is turning "waste reduction" from a slogan into a daily habit for residents and businesses alike: household source separation, merchants abandoning plastic cups, and recycling old denim into clothing and bags. A local shop called EcoDenim recycles about 1 ton of old jeans each month, producing roughly 400 regenerated clothing items and accessories after sorting and processing, priced between 200,000 and 500,000 Vietnamese dong.

Key Points

  • Hoi An's EcoDenim recycles about 1 ton of discarded jeans monthly, turning them into roughly 400 regenerated products including shirts, pants, and bags
  • Raw materials come from residents' old clothes, clothing stores, and unsold goods; finished products sell for about 200,000 to 500,000 Vietnamese dong
  • The Hoi An Ward Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee works with various groups to implement waste reduction programs, including the weekly Friday "One Hour for a Clean Hoi An," weekly "Green Sunday," and annual "No Plastic Bag Day"

Community Level: From Household Sorting to Political Group Signing

Resident Nguyen Thi Lan in the An Thai area of Hoi An Ward separates recyclables after finishing her daily cleaning, sorting bottles and reusable items into their own categories before taking them to the collection point. This repetitive action has become a habit for the whole family. She says that by sorting garbage at home first, it is already categorized by the time it reaches the collection point, saving the recycling workers considerable effort.

According to Vietnam.vn, Hoi An Ward plans in 2026 to have the Ward Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee collaborate with political groups, associations, residential areas, religious institutions, and the Vietnamese-Chinese community center to implement practical projects replacing single-use items with biodegradable plastic bags, glass bottles, and stainless steel containers. The ward will also continue to maintain the "One Hour for a Clean Hoi An" activity held every Friday afternoon at offices and units, as well as the weekly "Green Sunday" activity.

Fourteen residential areas have carried out actions including removing garbage collection points, planting street trees, creating flower roads, and cleaning up trash from the Hoai River. The "No Plastic Bag Day" event is held annually on September 9, and includes activities where people can exchange not littering for eco-friendly products or green plants.

In conjunction with the city Party Committee's Directive No. 14-CT/TU on urban order and civilized lifestyles, the "Hoi An Citizens: Green Living, Beautiful Behavior, Courteous Treatment" campaign is being promoted in residential areas, with all 18 Front Committee working group members having signed commitment letters. Three demonstration models have also been launched simultaneously: "Green Citizens—Green Environment" in the Xuan Trung residential area, "Clean, Beautiful, Safe, Civilized Residential Area" in the Phong Hoa residential area, and "Urban Residential Area—Four Principles of Self-Governance." Community monitoring teams have also been established to urge households and businesses to fulfill their commitments.

Ngo Thi Tuyet Nhung, Chairwoman of the Hoi An Ward Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, says each residential area can choose its approach based on actual conditions, and the key is resident participation and shared responsibility for their own living space. She believes that in this way, reducing waste and protecting the landscape will become part of Hoi An's civilized lifestyle.

Shop Level: A New Destination for Old Denim

Some tourism-related businesses in the ancient town are also looking for ways to reduce daily waste. The EcoDenim shop on Nguyen Duy Hieu Street disassembles old jeans and reassembles the remaining fabric pieces into pants, shirts, bags, decorations, and artworks.

Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, the person in charge of EcoDenim, explains that the shop collects about 1 ton of discarded jeans each month, and after selection and processing, transforms them into about 400 regenerated fashion products including shirts, pants, and bags. The raw materials come from people's worn old clothes, fashion stores, and unsold goods.

Lan Anh says some parts of old clothes are in very good condition, and as long as you know how to use them, they can be made into new products; the key is finding new uses for things that seem useless. Regenerated denim products are priced between 200,000 and 500,000 Vietnamese dong, each with unique value, and have attracted attention from local residents and domestic and international tourists. Lan Anh also hopes to expand recycling to other materials such as plastic, nylon, and tires.

Dining Level: From Plastic Cups to Reusable Reed Straws

The waste reduction journey at Mót Hoi An café starts with the utensils provided to customers. According to reports, on July 7, 2020, the café decided to stop using plastic cups. Owner Nguyen Huu Xuan explains that at the time there were many customers and the ancient town's waste generation was rising, so the café wanted to change its daily utensil habits and do its small part to reduce waste and protect the environment.

After that, plastic cups and straws were replaced with paper cups, bamboo and reed straws, single-use plastic bags were restricted, and waste sorting began at the source. Mót didn't just change tableware; it also adjusted its service approach: staff no longer automatically hand out bags but first ask customers if they need one. According to Xuan, many people don't take a bag. The café also encourages customers to bring their own water bottles for drinks, reduce unnecessary straw use, and dispose of used cups in designated locations.

Xuan suggests customers reuse reed straws multiple times, carrying them in their bags, which is convenient and also reduces the number of disposable straws thrown away.

From reusing bags and reducing cups to cherishing a piece of old fabric, in Hoi An, these small choices are bringing change to the environment.

Source: Enjoy an Eco-Friendly Life in Hoi An · Originally published on 2026-10-04