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As the engine of economic growth, trade promotes economic development under the support of free trade theory, but it also brings a series of environmental problems. Under the internal and external pressure, it is imperative to develop green packaging in China, and some countermeasures are put forward on how to develop green packaging in China and realize the coordination between packaging and trade environment.
Keywords: green packaging; Current situation; measure
China Library Classification Number: F760.3 Document Identification Number: A
First, the connotation of green packaging
Green packaging refers to the packaging that is harmless to the ecological environment and human health, can be recycled or degraded, and can promote the sustainable development of its whole life cycle. As an integral part of traded commodities and an important sector of society, packaging industry is closely related to the crisis of environment and resources. Unsafe and unsafe factors in packaging production, use and disposal have intensified human attention to packaging industry and packaging. Therefore, under the sweeping of the green wave, green packaging came into being in international trade. With the introduction of a series of environmental protection treaties, WTO has become more and more green, and developed countries have formulated laws and regulations on packaging and implemented environmental labeling system, which undoubtedly has a great impact on international trade. Especially when these packaging measures "protect trade in the name of environmental protection", it is a great obstacle to market access and product competitiveness.
Second, the development status of green packaging in China
(a) The need to conform to international practices has raised consumers' awareness of environmental protection. With the increasingly serious environmental problems, international organizations have called for environmental protection, and countries have promulgated laws and regulations. Consumers' awareness of environmental protection has awakened, especially those in developed countries. Their demand for goods is no longer limited to good quality, low price, nutrition and health, but has begun to pay attention to the impact of goods on the environment during production and consumption. Environmental protection products conform to this trend and win the favor of consumers. The upsurge of consumers' awareness of environmental protection will inevitably put forward requirements for packaging as a part of commodities. The competitiveness of goods whose packaging does not meet the domestic environmental protection requirements will be obviously weakened, while the packaged products with environmental protection signs will gain more markets. Failure to develop environmentally friendly packaging means losing consumers and markets.
(B) At present, China's green packaging has a negative impact on export trade. As a developing trading power, China's main trade markets are developed countries such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and ASEAN, and newly industrialized countries or regions, which account for about 88% of China's foreign trade, and these countries and regions are precisely the places where the green tide is most prevalent, environmental standards are strict and laws and regulations are diverse. Therefore, China's trade is inevitably affected by packaging barriers. First of all, China's packaging materials are backward, difficult to handle, and the recycling rate is low, which seriously pollutes the environment of importing countries, resulting in many products in China being unable to export because of packaging problems. In addition, because the packaging requirements of different countries may be different, when we meet the requirements of one country, we may not meet the requirements of another country. Therefore, export enterprises have to pay expensive packaging fees to meet the requirements of different countries. Therefore, when our packaging fails to meet the standards of other countries, or when it is unprofitable to increase the cost to meet the standards, we will face withdrawal from the market.
(3) The legal norms on packaging are not perfect. The Environmental Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on Solid Waste Pollution and the Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Promotion of Cleaner Production are the only laws in China concerning the management of packaging and its wastes. But there are still problems in the implementation of these two laws. There is no specific standard for "product packaging that is easy to be recycled, treated or absorbed in the environment", and there is no "national regulation" for recycling, recycling and utilization; Moreover, the conditions for implementation are not yet available, and the corresponding supporting institutions and facilities for recycling, storage and treatment of packaging waste are still far from perfect. It is also basically at the level of policy propaganda, and there is no specific operability. It is impossible to solve practical problems by relying solely on the above simple provisions. If laws and regulations are missing or formalized, enterprises will ignore green packaging in production, thus making products in a very unfavorable position in packaging in trade.
Third, China measures to promote green packaging
(1) Strengthen the education of packaging environmental protection, adjust by economic means, and establish a financial support system. First of all, to carry out the environmental protection campaign of packaging, one of the first tasks is to take various forms to carry out publicity and education activities to cultivate and establish the environmental awareness and participation awareness of all citizens. It has become a trend to formulate environmental labeling system. Products with environmental labels will have strong competitiveness in international trade, and will increasingly become an effective way for enterprises to improve economic benefits, open up markets and establish an image. According to the principle of "polluter pays", packaging manufacturers are urged to consider environmental costs, thus reducing packaging production from the source; Secondly, the government obtains income by collecting environmental tax on packaging materials, and according to the various expenses needed for packaging waste recovery and treatment, it has a stable source of funds to promote the process of packaging reduction and packaging waste recovery.
(2) Take the road of joint venture and implement green design. Many small packaging enterprises in China are short of funds and weak in lending ability, and their R&D level is even more worrying. Through joint venture, limited funds can be invested in key work, which is conducive to improving the overall quality of packaging enterprises; Realize economies of scale and enhance competitiveness. Through merger, resources can be shared, which is conducive to ensuring product quality and achieving economies of scale. It can also realize risk-taking and make the enterprise run smoothly. In addition, enterprises should adhere to the concept of "design is the source". Adhere to the reduction of packaging design, small batch, and strive to combine with products. In the design, the use of toxic packaging materials should be eliminated, environmental protection materials should be considered as much as possible, and the advantages of local resources should be combined. Adhere to reasonable packaging structure design. The structural design of packaging containers should meet the needs of consumers, embody the principle of humanization, and avoid inconvenience to consumers and even loss of personnel and property; It is necessary to conform to the requirements of the export market and avoid poor export due to unreasonable structure.
(C) Strengthen export awareness, and consumers establish a correct concept of consumption. Many exporters in China can't meet the environmental protection requirements of importing countries. One of the important reasons is that they don't know enough about the laws and regulations of importing countries and the intensity of consumers' environmental awareness. Packaging and decoration design should emphasize environmental protection, patterns and colors should adapt to the modern consumption psychology of foreign consumers, and protect and beautify the environment; In the choice of packaging materials, we should vigorously develop thin high-performance paper packaging, bamboo packaging, glass packaging, and transform plastic packaging. To realize green packaging, consumers must establish a correct concept of consumption. Establish environmental awareness, change the psychology of comparison, and refuse to use over-packaged and empty-packaged products. With the change of this demand, enterprises will be forced to change their design strategies. Pay attention to the disposal of garbage in the process of consumption, don't throw away the packaging casually, and participate in the recycling of packaging waste as much as possible, thus reducing packaging pollution, saving resources and creating a harmonious and comfortable environment.
(Author: Luohe Vocational and Technical College)
Main references:
[1] Jiang Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaohui. Legal research on green packaging from the perspective of circular economy [J]. Special Economic Zone 2007.2.
[2] Wang Liyun. The influence of green packaging barriers on China's product export and its countermeasures [J]. Heilongjiang Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, 2007.8+0.