Hong Kong's green market ripens slowly

Supermarkets in the West have leaped on the green marketing bandwagon, but their Hong Kong counterparts, facing little consumer pressure and unique social barriers, have been slow to join their ranks.

WHILE ENVIRONMENTALLY friendly products in the UK and North America are vying for increasing shares of supermarket shelf space — and earning marketers their fair share of profits —green fast-moving consumer goods and food products have been slow to penetrate Hong Kong markets. This is hardly surprising to anyone familiar with the fast-paced, business-driven city; green awareness and concern have been slow to emerge and pressures on marketers virtually nonexistent. "Manufacturers here haven’t started to sell their products as environmentally friendly," says director of Hong Kong’s Friends of the Earth (FoE), John Parker. "It’s not a big marketing ploy."

In many Western countries, green marketing has been raised to a fine art. Tesco, one of Britain’s largest supermarket chains, for example, has for several years been actively promoting chlorofluorocarbon free aerosol sprays, phosphate-free detergents and cleansers, recyclable plastic bottles, and organic vegetables, as well as a detailed labelling system to identify ecological products. Canada’s Loblaws supermarket chain also introduced a special line of green household and food products two years ago, including books on how to become more environmentally friendly. The enormous popularity of this line has been credited with raising share of market by two percentage points.

While environmentally friendly goods are not unknown in Hong Kong, their availability is limited. "It’s sort of a cycle," says Parker. "Once there’s some awareness, there are going to be more [green] products, which leads to more awareness, and so on. In the US and the UK it’s beginning to snowball."

Although Hong Kong is currently hovering at a fairly low point in the cycle, the territory’s Big Two supermarket chains, Park ‘N Shop and Wellcome, are beginning to introduce green products and practices. In April 1990, Park ‘N Shop began stocking a range of Tesco products, including phosphate-free detergents, chlorine-free bleach and recycled paper tissues, toilet paper and kitchen towels, in nine of its 145 stores. Organic produce is currently available in 11 Park ‘N Shop outlets. "The products are stocked in areas where demand for this type of range exists, although we try to make them available in larger outlets," says managing director of Park ‘N Shop, William Grimsey. Wellcome, too, stocks a line of green household cleaning products under the Australian "Down to Earth" label and carries hydroponics (grown in inorganic nutrient solution) vegetables in some of its 163 stores. The chain does not stock any aerosols containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Park ‘N Shop launched biodegradable plastic bags in October 1989 but has no plans at present to introduce paper bags. "The raw material cost for bags made of paper is approximately five times higher than for plastic in Hong Kong," says Grimsey. "Presumably, they are lower priced in the US [where they are generally offered to supermarket customers] due to the availability of more abundant, cheaper wood pulp." Both Park ‘N Shop and Wellcome currently offer plastic-bag recycling facilities in selected stores, where bags are collected and sent to recycling plants.

Despite recent green measures taken by Hong Kong retailers, FoE’s Parker is quick to point out that the territory still lags substantially behind the West. A visit to a supermarket in Wanchai — an area inhabited by few expatriates and therefore possibly less influenced by green concerns — only confirms this impression.

"Take these packaged instant noodles," he says, gesturing toward an entire aisle full of the plastic packaged popular convenience food. ‘In addition to being bad for you — they contain monosodium glutamate and added salt — they are packaged in non-recyclable plastic that is going straight into the landfill." Polystyrene-packaged noodles, he adds, are no better as the containers are also non-recyclable and non-biodegradable, and CFCs used in the production process may damage the ozone layer. Both types of packaging are made from nonrenewable petroleum.

Toward the end of the aisle, Parker finds a brand of noodles packaged in cardboard, which could be recycled. Despite its slightly green slant, however, there is no advertising to this effect. "If you were in America, half the foods would be labelled ‘no preservatives added’ or ‘fat free’, or point to their environmental-friendliness," he says. "They’re not yet selling points here."

Part of the reason for this, he explains, is a simple lack of awareness. "The vast majority of Hong Kong people are not yet concerned — just some of the expatriates and a very small number of Chinese."

Compounding the problem is a lack of institutionalised green practices, such as recycling. "Even with paper-packaged goods, a lot won’t be recycled unless they are separated out of the rubbish, but hardly anyone does this because there is no system for collection," he says. And although 90 per cent of aluminium is recycled and some businesses are beginning to recycle paper, many other potentially recyclable resources end up in landfills. "We are trying to initiate a recycling effort in the private sector," says Parker.

Such efforts are hampered by Hong Kong’s chronic shortage of space. While in parts of North America and the UK, collection facilities for aluminium cans, bottles and paper are common, there is literally little place for such containers in Hong Kong. "In North America, people have boxes in their kitchens for recycled goods, but it’s more difficult in Hong Kong because people are not going to waste any space with rents so high," says Parker.

And resources like tin often fail to be recycled because of their low second-hand value. Recycled aluminium, on the other hand, is a precious resource to manufacturers as the original extraction process is costly and difficult.

Figures for known supplies of raw tin — and most other resources — are sobering. At 1988 production and consumption rates, proven reserves indicate under 25 years’ supply of tin, lead and zinc and a 224-year supply of aluminium, according to the World Resources Institute. The figures for oil, natural gas and coal are 41 years. 58 years and 218 years, respectively. And Parker quickly emphasises that consumption will certainly rise with population — expected to stabilise at between eight and 14 billion next century, up from today’s world total of 5.4 billion.

Parker picks up a tin of sardines equipped with a plastic lid. "I suppose the lid is for people who use some of the contents and want to keep the rest, but you can’t really keep this for more than a couple of days and it’s just an extra piece of plastic," he says rather despondently.

Moving down the aisle toward the drinks section, Parker points out that glass bottles are recyclable, but are in the same category as tin — savings to manufacturers are not significant enough to act as ‘incentives for recycling. "The trouble is that the environmental costs of these things are not figured into prices," he says. "Most of this stuff will end up in a landfill, which the taxpayer pays for. And with nonrenewable resources, costs do not in any way reflect the fact that they’re running out. If there were some way to build in the costs to society, there would be less waste."

Parker believes environmental costs will at some point be factored into prices. but not until Hong Kong’s green concern deepens. Such a scheme would be all-encompassing and logistically complicated, he adds. "But in the US now, they are starting to charge people for using landfills. That’s the first step."

After examining another few aisles. it becomes apparent that the number of ways goods are packaged in Hong Kong is limited. A common element is overpackaging. Products such as cereals, cigarettes and many frozen goods often come with a superfluous clear plastic cover. "It’s this excess packaging that really annoys me," says Parker, pointing to a six-pack of cartoned drinks held together with thin plastic wrapping. "Marketers do consider the cost of the package," he says. "They’re going to choose the cheapest package that makes the product look attractive."

Around the corner, a rare product is revealed —one which advertises its own greenness: a can of furniture polish proudly announces that it is CFC-free. Unfortunately, it is the only CFC-free aerosol spray on the shelf.

Similarly, none of the paper products in this particular store has been made from recycled paper. "These are all produced from soft woods grown as a crop, so at least this is not tropical rainforest and it’s a renewable resource," he says. "But it will all end up in a landfill somewhere and there’s waste in the energy used to produce it."

"I read somewhere that each baby is responsible for destroying 17 trees," he says, approaching the disposable nappy display. "The whole thing is a question of convenience. Once people realise that the environment is more important than convenience, they may change. When their awareness gets to a certain level, they’ll say, ‘in all conscience, I can’t do this’ ." Parker also believes in educating people about the environment at an earlier age, before bad habits become entrenched. To this end, FoE employs an education officer, who leads several teacher symposiums and over 50 presentations to secondary school students each year.

But, Hong Kong’s crowded, concrete living conditions may be a barrier to environmental concerns, even among the young. "Kids need to experience nature," he asserts. "You have to appreciate nature to do something to conserve it. If I had been brought up in Hong Kong, I probably wouldn’t care either."

Even so, he is often amazed at just how tolerant of ecological and health dangers local people are. "One of the most frightening things here is that a lot of Hong Kong’s fruit and vegetables are produced in China, where controls on chemicals are very lax. You hear about someone getting poisoned every couple of months! Hong Kong people could demand more stringent testing from their own government."

And beyond Hong Kong’s unique obstacles to "greenness" lie problems on a global scale. "Over the next 50 years. world population will probably double more people, more resources used, and then there will be fights about who uses them. Unless you change all this, it’s going to be very difficult things are accelerating faster and faster," he says. But that’s not to say it can’t be done. "The push has to come from below; you’ve got to get people enthusiastic about the environment," he says. "I always say individuals can make a difference because they’re consumers."

WITH APATHY TOWARD THE GREEN movement commonplace among Hong Kong adults — and bad habits often firmly in place — many feel the best place to advance concern for the environment is In the territory’s schools. To this end, both government and non-government organisations recently began actively promoting and developing Improved green curricula, with the hope of making environmental concerns more real to the majority of Hong Kong’s children who grow up in a "concrete jungle".

Although most primary and secondary schools do not provide courses on the environment per Se, many now incorporate a cross-curricula approach. "Emphasis on the environment is introduced informally through subjects like geography, biology and physics," says education officer at Friends of the Earth (FoE), Lau Ying Kit. Students are also encouraged to go green through ecologically themed drawing and writing contests, school plays, seminars and other extracurricular activities.

A more structured curriculum is currently being developed by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and Education Department. A specific course on environmental protection will be offered as one of six options in Liberal Studies, a new subject to be introduced in 1992 to secondary six and seven students (ages 17-19).

A number of Hong Kong’s universities have also begun to introduce green courses and degrees. These include a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Life Science at the University of Hong Kong and courses in water pollution control and waste management at Hong Kong Polytechnic and environmental science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"Green groups really appreciate these efforts, but we’d prefer they started in secondary school forms one to five, because there are more students and they are younger," says Lau. To reach this segment, Lau last year gave over 50 presentations to secondary schools, usually to several hundred students at a time. "I share my experiences on how to protect the environment," he says. "For example, I tell the students to use fewer plastic bags and show them that I carry my own. I emphasize the principle ‘Think globally, act locally’." The World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong has also been active in green education, inviting students to its two education centres and making presentations to three or four primary and secondary schools a week.

To help teach the teachers, FoE organised two teachers’ seminars last year -- one on the environment in general and the other on energy conservation attended by a total of 360 teachers. "We’re planning on one or two again this year, though the topics have not yet been decided," says Lau.

A weakness of environmental education programmes has been a lack of teaching and resource material. To strengthen this area, the government last year distributed Its first Environmental Education Package — five films and teachers’ manuals on air, noise, and water pollution, waste management and the environment to 490 schools. Targeting preschool children, FoE is finalising eight English and Chinese teaching kits and a 20-minute Chinese-language video on environmental education. Plans are also underway to introduce an Environmental Information Resource Centre in 1992 and field studies centres over the next few years.