“Our tingi culture can evolve into a behavior that promotes sufficient consumption and no packaging waste.”
Ever found yourself needing just a single serving of coffee, one stick of cigarette, or just the right amount of laundry detergent good for one wash load?
If yes, you are more likely to buy just the right amount that you need for a purpose—which forms part of the special practice of retailing in the Philippines —tingi-tingi (piecemeal or by-the-piece consumption).
‘Tingi’ culture is a deeply ingrained practice of buying things in small quantities. Sari-sari stores, which are essentially convenience stores in the provinces and in small communities, serve as an accessible place of commerce where basic needs are sold. You ran out of toothpaste? They have it. You only need half a kilo of rice? You can buy it. How about just a small pack of sugar? They offer it.
As the lifeblood of communities, sari-sari stores serve the needs of the people, usually fitting into the limited budget of Filipino families. Because of this practice, essential goods become affordable to people, and the sari-sari stores make these products accessible. The ability to buy exactly what consumers can afford, when they need it, stretch limited incomes. It’s a system built on practicality, frugality, and a unique understanding of everyday household economics.
The demand for products in smaller quantities popularized the use of sachets, essentially fueling the sachet economy. The sachet economy is the widespread use of sachet as packaging for single-serving consumer goods. While it offers a practical solution to the masses, it has contributed to an environmental crisis – plastic pollution. With millions of Filipinos buying products in single-use plastic sachets, the cumulative effect is staggering. These tiny packets, often made of multi-layer plastics, are difficult and expensive to recycle. Their proliferation in the environment leads to clogged waterways and overflowing landfills. Beneath the surface of affordability and convenience using sachets is the “dark side” of tingi. The big problem with it is that the use of single-use plastic sachet is synonymous with the tingi culture. If we can resolve the packaging problem, we may see the switch of the tingi culture from an environmental headache into a sustainability champion.
Going back to ingrained practice of tingi, we find a cultural mindset that is akin to sustainable consumption. The inherent motivation of tingi is to consume sufficiently within our daily needs. In other words, the tingi culture is at the opposite end to overconsumption. Overconsumption leads to unnecessary waste and unnecessary environmental footprints on the environment. We can bank on the sufficient consumption behavior behind this culture as our ticket towards sustainable consumption.
Right now, alternatives to single-use plastic sachets are available. Edible packaging and compostable packaging are among those that seem to be promising alternatives. Of course, there are trade-offs in these alternatives such as higher greenhouse gas emissions from the upstream process. We discussed this in our previous article, “Rethinking plastics”, published on July 20, 2025. Maybe the solution for the sachet problem is not to have any packaging at all. Reusable containers may be the solution that eliminates the sachet problem.
With the tingi culture and reusable containers, we can significantly reduce our environmental footprint. Now, this can happen as package-free or zero-waste retailers are on the rise in recent years. For instance, different sari-sari stores in Quezon City and San Juan City house refilling stations where you can just bring your own reusable container. You have full control of the amount of product that you buy, depending on your need and budget. Some stores have actually experimented with door-to-door sales for convenience to the customers.
As these stores open up, our tingi culture can evolve into a behavior that promotes sufficient consumption and no packaging waste. So, is it possible to adopt package-free tingi culture? DEFINITELY. It can become a culture that we can be proud of.
Dr. Jonna C. Baquillas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Marketing and Advertising, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. Dr. Ivan Gue is the Chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gokongwei College of Engineering in the same university. They are engaged in research and projects focused on circular economy, sustainability transitions, and sustainable consumption and production.
The views expressed above are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.
