Ethics And Sustainability In China In the recent decades; China has increasingly showed its commitment to sustainability, with the Chinese Government spending over 370 Billion Dollars in 16 big environmental initiatives. Through 2015; over 300 billion dollars were invested; recovering 620 million hectares which covers about 60% of China (Bryan 2018). The current President Xi has continuously expressed his concern towards the environment. “Building high quality. sustainable, risk resistant, cheap will benefit countries to fully utilize their resource endowments” the President stated (2018). An interesting finding suggests that 19% Chinese shoppers do not ‘understand’ what sustainable truly means; and look at brands to teach them (Smith 2019). However; TrendCenter (2019) believes that one of the key drivers for Chinese shopper will be sustainability by 2020; with the younger generation paying more for impact and functionality. The 2018 China Sustainable Consumption Report by Yili Group suggests that especially those under 21 have a special attraction towards ethical fashion; accounting for 80% of the survey applicants (Smith 2019).
In 2017; Shanghai Fashion Week also witnessed a first; with a temp local called Green Code; with the aim to introduce sustainable fashion. The venue was in two sections; pop-up stores and a catwalk. When leaving the building; many people witnessed garment recycling boxes, where they can throw out unwanted items to be recycled. This event opened the doors for the Chinese customers to learn more about environmentalism and the impact of the fashion industry on the environment. Mintel (2019) suggests that consumers in China nowadays seek brands that can help their well-being while helping the environment. China is even developing an entirely self-sufficient neighborhoods where all buildings are covered with plants and trees in order to clean the areas in which they are in. China also faces an air pollution problem that kills 1.6 million people every year as a main cause of death (Mintel 2019). These atrocities encourages the newer generations to lean towards ‘greener’ brands; where they can make an actual impact (Mintel 2019).
58% of Chinese consumers agree buying ethical makes them happy. (Mintel 2019) 6
