Monday 14 July 2008

China's Environmentalists and the brands lagging behind



Anyone who has travelled to China will have seen how thrifty and resourceful the average Chinese can be; nothing goes to waste, anything that can be re-used will be. I feel this is often overlooked by worldwide media coverage.

Environmentalism is becoming more and more popular in China, the middle-class increasingly cares about green issues and protests are becoming commonplace.

China Dialogue is a great site, a forum focused on environmental issues where comments and articles in both English or Mandarin are translated into the other language.

China Dialogue's Paul French points out in his article "Why is China different for western brands?" that a number of worldwide brands which adopt green practices in other markets fail to do so in mainland China:

"• Banking chain HSBC sends its mail in Hong Kong on recyclable paper, in envelopes that note the bank is committed to protecting the environment. None of this is mentioned on envelopes sent to Chinese mainland addresses;

• Luxury retailer LVMH’s new Catherine Deneuve-led advertising campaign features a tag line that supports the Climate Project. It appears everywhere from London to Hong Kong, but not on their ads in the Chinese mainland;"

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