Shanghai Street View: Packaging Crackdown 沪经动向：包装瘦身

I’ve lived in a number of Asian cities before taking up my current residence in Shanghai, including 3 years in Taiwan from 2006 to 2009. While I enjoyed may things about Taipei, one of the things that I found less appealing was the tendency for shops and companies there to overpackage many products, especially items intended as gifts. The phenomenon would often cause objects such as bottles of perfume or liquor to suddenly morph into packages that were 3 or 4 times the size of the actual product. I’ll discuss shortly my theories on where this phenomenon came from and the psychology behind it, but first I want to congratulate Shanghai for taking the lead in trying to curb this extremely wasteful practice that has spread from Taiwan to China in the last decade.

Like many other people here in Shanghai and throughout China, I often receive gifts like tea, cookies or liquor， that come in extremely overpackaged containers. By the time I open everything and get to the actual gift, I often have waded through layers and layers of wrapping, which usually start with large gift bags padded out with tissue paper, followed by large boxes or baskets that are mostly empty space, before finally arriving at the actual product which is usually nestled somewhere deep and securely inside the box.

The garbage generated by such gifts is usually voluminous, often weighing as much or even more than the actual gift product. I find such gifts not only frustrating, but also a bit tedious since the packaging they include often quickly fills up my trash can, forcing me to make extra trips to my building’s trash room.Then of course there’s the needless waste that has an obvious negative effect on the environment.

So, now that I’ve complained enough about the excessive packaging, I wanted to draw attention to Shanghai’s leading role at fighting the problem. The city has just introduced its own new law, specifically setting limits on what is and isn’t acceptable when packaging products. (English article) The rules spell out ratios designed to curb the volume of empty space, and also limit the number of layers of packaging for each product. The rules officially took effect this month, and manufacturers who violate the new standards could face fines of up to 50,000 yuan, or around $800.

A recent survey conducted by a Beijing newspaper found that 97.5 percent of people thought that excessive packaging was a serious problem, and 83 percent said the practice wasted resources and harmed the environment. I completely agree with the people in that survey, and fully support this new campaign by Shanghai, which has received widespread coverage in the local news over the last few weeks. Obviously it will take some time to educate consumers, shop owners, and manufacturers about the new rules, but the bigger store chains like Carrefour (Paris: CARR) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) should hopefully take the lead in tackling the problem and enforcing the new law.

Going back to the original question on the origins of this phenomenon, I personally think the tendency to overpackage is particularly Asian and has its roots in Japan. I can recall previous trips to Japan where I received gifts that were elaborately wrapped in multiple bags and boxes, making the packaging many times larger than the actual gift. From Japan the phenomenon followed an increasingly popular route, traveling first to Taiwan and from there making the journey to mainland China.

My personal view is that the concept of “face” has fueled this overpackaging trend in Asia, as giving such elaborately packaged products gives face to both the giver and also the recipient. I’ll openly admit that I don’t oppose attractive packaging, and I like getting the nicely designed bottle of baiujiu liquor just as much as anyone else.

But I do think there’s a difference between attractive designs and the kind of excessive packaging that seems to have become all too common in China these last few years. Accordingly, I commend Shanghai for taking this bold new step for China, even though such a move is likely to irk at least some face-conscious consumers. Hopefully we’ll see more similar rules rolled out in other parts of China in the years ahead, as Chinese learn to balance the importance of traditional concepts like face with equally important and more current concepts like environmental protection.