The level of environmental responsibility in the Chinese market: The possibilities of liquid paperboard packages to succeed as pro-environmental products in China

Abstract

This study aims at examining how the development of the Chinese market in general and the development of the Chinese liquid packaging market enables the success of pro-environmental products such as liquid paperboard packages in the country at the moment and in the near future. The theoretical frame of reference consists of the life cycle of a liquid paperboard and the factors surrounding it in the society. Liquid paperboard packages’ possibilities to success as a pro-environmental product in China today and in the near future are compared with those of a thermoplastic bottle. Different actors’ level of environmental responsibility in the Chinese market and in the Chinese liquid packaging market and the factors influencing them are explored.

The research material consists of written sources and 27 qualitative interviews. Internet sources of all written sources are often preferred because they give the most topical information of the studied issues. The information in the empirical part of the research is gathered from written sources and focused interviews.

Today the level of environmental responsibility is generally speaking low in China. The situation is better in the most developed areas and in the biggest cities where the most progress in pro-environmentalism is expected to happen in the near future. Currently a minority but a growing number of authorities, consumers and companies are trying to behave in a more environmentally responsible manner. Even though liquid paperboard packages cannot compete with their pro-environmental features today, it is estimated to be possible in China in the near future if they cost as much as the products without the environmental features. Today liquid paperboard packages are estimated to be environmentally more competitive than polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. The competition situation in the near future depends e.g. on the development of the recycling system in China. From the material perspective a liquid paperboard package will always be more environmentally competitive than any kind of thermoplastic bottle.