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Sustainability events can sometimes feel a little like homework. You arrive, read a few panels about recycling, nod seriously at statistics about waste and leave promising yourself that you will definitely be more responsible with your next purchase. UOL Malls’ latest Green Movement With U felt different. I attended the media launch at Velocity@Novena Square and what I liked most was how little the experience felt like someone was trying to lecture me about being sustainable. Instead, there were things to browse, products I genuinely wanted to stop and look at and several clever reminders that living more sustainably does not always mean buying an entirely new category of “eco-friendly” things. Sometimes, it simply means using what already exists for longer.
This year marks the fifth edition of Green Movement With U, organised by UOL Malls in partnership with the National Environment Agency’s annual Say YES to Waste Less campaign. Running from 24 July to 23 August 2026, the theme is fittingly Pre-Loved / Re-Loved, with the campaign encouraging shoppers to repair, reuse, recycle and rethink what they buy before something becomes waste. And thankfully, it brings that message to life rather than leaving it on a poster.
A department store, but not quite as we know it
The centrepiece is a reimagined department store divided into four areas: The Window, The Floor, The Studio and The Checkout. Each takes something familiar about shopping and gives it a circular-economy spin. It is a simple idea, but one that works particularly well inside a mall. We are used to entering retail spaces expecting something new. New clothes, new accessories, new gadgets, new launches. Here, the experience asks a slightly different question: does everything we value actually have to be new? For me, The Floor was easily one of the highlights.
The pop-ups brought together pre-loved, upcycled and more consciously made products across fashion, watches, stationery, film photography and vinyl. At Velocity, the participating names include Vintagewknd, Secondtick, OFFCUT, Yappy Film and Ronggeng Records. I loved browsing through them because it made the whole conversation around circular living feel much more tangible.
There is something quite satisfying about picking up an object that already has a story, whether that is a vintage piece, a watch, a record or something created using materials that might otherwise have been discarded. It also challenges the slightly dreary image that sometimes surrounds second-hand consumption. Pre-loved does not have to mean second-best. In many cases, it can mean more character, more individuality and, frankly, a much more interesting browsing experience.
The part of the speech that stayed with me
During the Green Movement With U launch, one idea from the opening remarks stayed with me: sustainability ultimately has to become part of everyday behaviour. That sounds obvious, but it is probably the hardest part. Most of us already know that excessive consumption creates waste. We know we should recycle electronics properly. We know perfectly wearable clothes should not immediately end up in the bin. The gap is rarely awareness alone. It is convenience, habit and sometimes simply not knowing what the alternative looks like. That is why I appreciated the mission behind this campaign.
Rather than asking people to become completely different consumers overnight, Green Movement With U introduces small actions into an environment where we are already making purchasing decisions. UOL Malls and NEA describe the collaboration as an effort to move sustainable consumption from “intention to action”, including reducing consumption, repairing and reusing products before they become waste. For Singapore, that conversation is particularly relevant as the country continues working to reduce the amount of waste ultimately sent to Semakau Landfill. But what I liked about hearing the larger mission at the event was that, surrounded by vintage fashion, old-school cameras and upcycled creations, it suddenly felt less abstract. You could actually see what giving something another life might look like.
Green Movement With U is not only about shopping
Another smart element is that the activation does not stop at selling pre-loved products. At The Studio, visitors can participate in workshops and activities built around reuse and upcycling. These include Vintagewknd’s Keychain Bar Workshop, a 3D-printing workshop by PlasticTinkers, mini ALBA bin activities and opportunities to design photo frames. Then there is The Checkout, where shoppers can dispose of unwanted electronics and textiles responsibly through collection drives supported by ALBA and Re:Nue by The Salvation Army. I particularly like this combination because sustainability cannot only be about giving people greener things to buy.
If every environmental campaign eventually ends with “and here is another product you can purchase”, we have probably missed part of the point. Repairing, donating, recycling and simply keeping things for longer deserve to be part of the conversation too.
Making circular living feel normal
Perhaps that was my biggest takeaway from Green Movement With U. The campaign does not present circular living as a niche lifestyle reserved for people who have already perfected their zero-waste routines. It brings it into a regular shopping mall, among everyday errands, meals, retail stores and weekend plans. And maybe that is exactly where these conversations need to happen.
Because meaningful sustainability is unlikely to come from everyone suddenly becoming perfect consumers. It will probably come from millions of smaller decisions: buying one pre-loved item instead of a new one, repairing something we would previously have replaced, donating clothes sitting untouched in a wardrobe or finally bringing that drawer full of forgotten cables somewhere they can be recycled properly.
The Green Movement With U activation runs at Velocity@Novena Square until 2 August, before moving to United Square from 3 to 9 August 2026, while the broader Green Movement With U campaign continues across both malls until 23 August. If you are heading down, definitely leave some time for the pop-ups rather than treating them as something to quickly walk through.
I went in expecting an environmental campaign. I came out thinking about the things I already own, the things other people no longer want and how much possibility there can be in simply giving something another turn. And perhaps that is what Pre-Loved / Re-Loved gets right. Sustainability does not always have to start with giving something up. Sometimes, it starts with looking at an old thing differently.
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