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30 Jan 2023
Disclaimer: This is a random shower thought I had (literally); so I haven’t really done much research on this, but I think it’ll be hella cool anyways. Here goes-
Chinese New Year is a time of great festivities in Singapore. As an (unmarried) Chinese with a huge extended family, it is always a great time for celebrating, gathering and… angpow collecting 🤑🤑 But what is the environmental impact of exchanging a buttload of red packets with new notes each year?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has reported that this excess printing of new notes to keep up with the festive demand contributes to about 8% of their total carbon emissions, equivalent to powering 430 HDB flats annually. Further, about 40 million out of 100 million new notes end up being incinerated after the Chinese New Year. When I first saw these statistics in the Straits Times, my instant reaction was one of utter distaste. I'm scarcely the only one - hundreds of readers on the Straits Times' Telegram Channel expressed their discontent via downvotes. After all, the tradition of angpow giving isn’t that big a contributor – quit being so calculative on my culture and target the greater evils!
MAS also doubled down on its position, calling for the switch from new notes, to good-as-new notes, to fit-for-gifting notes. If you’ve never seen what a “fit-for-gifting” note looks like (link here): it’s exactly as it sounds – slightly crumpled, but just passable. While I’ve never really been a sucker for new notes, I understand why others do – not only is it a long-standing tradition, but it is also believed to be a “huat” (lucky) way to usher in the new year.
After some thought though, I decided that while the carbon emissions of red packets don’t seem like much, I’d be open to changes as long as it doesn’t negate the oft-overlooked value of tradition and culture. To this respect, e-angpows were the proposed solution: carrying on the practice of giving without generating excessive waste. For example, the DBS bank has long rolled out QR code angpows, where users can scan these loaded QRs to receive their angpow zua. Yet, while this form of gifting has recently been gaining traction, I argue that it has not fully replaced that magical feeling of opening the little red paper envelopes.
To that – I propose adding a little spice ✨✨. While DBS does have a lucky draw incentive (chance to win a Tesla!) to "convert" people into e-gifting, I would go one step further. Hear me out – fortune wheels for your angpows. (Again – this is a shower thought, if this already exists, my bad.) How does it work, you say. Well I'm sO gLAD yOU ASkeD- Say you want to give an average of about $8 to each of your nieces and nephews. But you also want that element of fun. Imagine if your paynow/paylah could now send e-angpows with sure-win fortune wheels based on your customized winning values. You then input a range of values they can win (e.g. $6, $8, and $10) and load it into a QR code as before. As your unsuspecting youngling opens the e-packet, they are brought to a spinning wheel with Prizes A, B and C. They take a spin, and vIoLA! - they get the amount they deserve. Better yet if there is an additional function of a GOLDEN ANGPOW, with a much rarer chance rate!**
Not only does this addition make things a little more exciting (possibly even evolving into a family activity to cheer as one takes their spin!), but it is also very in line with fortune playing in Chinese New Year festivities. (Ahem! Blackjack, mahjong, toto...) This game of chance is far from a social vice (sure-win has no stakes, after all), and will instead be a great way to bond and laugh over.
Plus! Bonus points if you can reason a low $$ angpow on the lil kid's draw. Tough luck buddy, try again next year :P
Notes:
** Administratively, I guess paylah/paynow would have to "cop" your money (whatever the highest prize is) and safekeep first until after the spin, then return whatever balance they didn't win? Probably have to include a validity time limit on those spins as well? Edit: Following some comments from friends, I should perhaps clarify that I am not reimagining the entirety of angpow giving to shift online - I do understand that some may feel stronger for the intangible ties of family and tradition that may be attached to the physical angpow giving. Personally, I also cannot imagine my own grandmother giving me an e-angpow, or that of those directly from my parents. But at the same time, where appropriate, I don't believe that e-angpows cannot express beyond a mere transaction of money just because it is online. Angpow giving, as an expression of selflessly helping those (typically) younger than you, and promoting a sense of community and kinship, may still work online in "less serious" cases. Perhaps this is born from my own experience of having extended family gatherings of over 50 people (just on my mom's side!) - the amount of angpow exchange has morphed into something more "fun" and "casual", in contrast to that which exists between my parents and I, or the "head of the family" (in my case, my grandmother) and us. Hence, I am not proposing that EVERY angpow should be shifted online - but rather those which are already more "casual" in nature, in the "spirit of giving and festivities" to consider an online transition. While each family's or individual's preferences/ "threshold" may differ, some examples could include peer-peer house visitations or that one cousin's cousin that you've never seen in your life :)