Everyday Plastics Blog

Beijing-based market research firm ePanel Co. Ltd. has revealed some interesting trends about cosmetic packaging consumption after conducting a recent online survey of 1,492 young women in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The survey, targeting white-collar women in the age group of 25-35 and with monthly income higher than 2,500 yuan (US$366.11), shows that 59.5 percent of the subjects keep the container after they use up the skincare or makeup or fragrance. About half of these consumers simply collect cosmetic containers as a hobby, while the other half said they repurpose the containers for, say, storage or home décor.

According to the findings, 78.3 percent of the respondents said glass is their favorite material for cosmetic packaging.

However, respondents in Guangzhou report a higher appreciation for plastic packaging, with 17.9 percent of them preferring plastic packaging to other materials. The rate is 8.6 percent among respondents from Beijing and 7.4 percent for Shanghai.

The survey respondents also said they are most attracted by packaging material (48.5 percent), followed by the volume (43.5 percent), color (37.6 percent) and shape (28.3 percent) of the packaging.

A popular tourism destination near Shanghai is discussing ways to encourage hotels and restaurants to cut back on disposable supplies, including toiletry items.

Personally, I don’t mind if they cut back on one-time-use plastic combs or toothbrushes, but there’s one item I hope they don’t take away.

Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, is famous for the West Lake and other natural scenery. Local tourism bureau officials said this week that hotels could use incentives like complimentary breakfasts or souvenirs to make up for the reduction on disposable supplies, according to local newspapers.

This one item that I actually use and hope to continue to use is disposable slippers, something I’ve never seen in America. From US$20 a night inns to five-star global chain hotels, all hotels in China offer disposable slippers, made of materials ranging from paper-thin plastic nonwoven fabric to cushioned terry cotton.

I understand why hotels in America provide, say, coffee makers, while the Chinese hotels don’t. But is the need for disposable slippers a cultural or regional matter?

Back to the main subject, the hotels could probably start the green initiative by having customers request specific disposable items that they need, still free of charge, when they make reservations or check in. It may be some extra work for both the customer and the hotel, but still worthwhile for the sake of eco-friendliness.

Shen Changyu, an expert of plastic molding and tooling, has been elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. One of his best-known achievements is the development of the space suit helmets used in China’s first space walk last September.

Professor Shen, 46 years of age, is president of Zhengzhou University and director of the National Engineering Research Center for Plastic and Rubber Molds. His research fields include cooling systems for injection molds, and the formation and evolution of microstructures in the molding process.

China’s 93 percent year-over-year growth rate for auto sales in November bodes well for all car makers and suppliers. And the icing on the cake goes to luxury vehicles.

According to the Wall Street Journal, compared to a year ago, Mercedes-Benz tripled its November sales in China to 8,900 cars, and Audi more than doubled to 16,503. Audi AG has said it expects China to surpass Germany and become its largest sales region in 2012 or 2013. BMW AG also said sales in China were up 40 percent, to 8,470 cars.

One of China’s leading manufacturers of bioplastic products, Wuhan Huali Environment Protection Science Technology Co. Ltd., has received US$13.5 million of venture capital funding from DT Capital Partners.

At last week’s signing ceremony, Huali Chairman Zhang Xianbing projected 2009 sales to reach 120 million yuan (US$17.6 million), according to the company’s Web site.

The 9-year-old company in Wuhan, Hubei province, touts its annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons of biodegradable plastarch materials (PSM), which meet international standards such as EN 13432 and ASTM D6400. Its product portfolio also includes finished products and processing equipment.

Huali said it exports PSM materials and packaging products to more than thirty countries. Sales have been growing at a compound growth rate of 50 percent and higher in the past few years.

Shanghai-based DT Capital, which manages more than US$500 million in US dollar and RMB funds, said China has a greater need to develop biodegradable plastics than developed markets.

“It’s difficult to predict the payback period,” managing director Zhao Jun said, “but the market prospects are looking good. Huali is the leader of the industry.”

Previous news reports show that Huali posted 86 million yuan (US$12.6 million) in 2008 sales and 17 million yuan (US$ 2.5 million) in net profit.

Huali’s first experience with venture capital investment dates back three years, when it received $US$5 million from a Hong Kong-based firm.

Huali is not the only bioplastic firm that’s gaining popularity from the investment community. According to the 21 Century Business Herald, last year, Tianjin Green BioScience Co. Ltd. received US$20 million from investors including DSM. Also, Shenzhen Ecomann Biotechnology Co. Ltd. obtained investment from Shenzhen Capital Group Co. Ltd.

A trade group official said at an industry conference that among the 200-plus bioplastic companies in China, only 20 percent make profits. “Most of them are still in the early stage of investment,” Weng Yunxuan of the China plastics Processing Industry Association was quoted as saying in news reports.

Beijing-based Bright East Group Ltd. has started construction of a new plastic optical fiber industrial park in the southwest city of Chongqing with an investment of 2.6 billion yuan (US$381 million).

When finished, the three-year, three-phase project will be equipped with 117 production lines, totaling 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) of telecommunications-grade fiber in annual capacity. The company expects the facility to create 2,000 jobs and turn out 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion) in annual sales.

Bright East features a diverse business portfolio including real estate, advertising, and construction. The optical fiber plant will be the company’s first step into plastics manufacturing.

China’s domestic market has great potential for plastic optical fiber, which is more cost-effective than glass optical fiber. Until a few years ago, Chinese firms were only able to make plastic optical fiber for illumination, not data transmission purposes.

An existing market player, Jiangxi Dasheng Plastic Optical fiber Co. Ltd., is also planning to expand its capacity. A company executive told a conference in July that Dasheng aims to achieve daily capacity of 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) PPMA optical fiber and also catch up with Japanese industry leaders in terms of quality. Specifically, the company expects to reduce transmission loss from 184 dB/km to 170 dB/km by the end of this year.

A PhD student in Beijing is challenging the government’s enforcement of the nationwide ban of free shopping carrier bags and ultrathin bags, joined by non-government organizations that have been tracking bag usage.

Mao Da, studying environmental history at the Beijing Normal University, has been trying to have the Administration of Industry and Commerce officials publish the detailed results of the “Bag ban enforcement survey.” He also inquired about the penalties received by a supermarket, which was reportedly busted for giving out ultrathin bags.

While China’s administrative regulations require a response to a public inquiry within 15 business days, Mao submitted his inquiry on Sept. 22, and had not received any feedback by Nov. 10, according to the China Economic Times.

Mao is part of Action for Plastic Bags Policy (http://napbp.blog.sohu.com), a Beijing-based NGO with members from China, Japan and Sweden. Their research shows that the bag ban is implemented in 94 percent of the department stores and supermarkets, 35 percent of the smaller retail outlets and just 29 percent in farmers’ markets.

Another organization, International Food Packaging Association, suggested that eight government agencies are overseeing the enforcement of the bag ban, making it less clear and less efficient. General Secretary Dong Jinshi told local media, “Some law enforcement officials are unclear about the regulations.” He said, “I’m afraid the ban is not working at all in some regions [outside Beijing].”

In a speech at the recent Asia Manufacturing Forum 2009 in Beijing, an executive from Textron Inc., parent company of blow molder Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, said the company is considering further investment in China.

Martin M. Lin, president of Textron China, said the expansion will support the increasing demand from the nation’s automotive industry, according to a transcript of his Chinese speech provided by 163.com. He didn’t go into details.

“Our China team achieved 30 percent cost reduction by redesigning tools and work flow,” he said, “Localization also helps our customers increase added-value.”

Kautex makes plastic fuel tanks at its factories in Changchun, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

A vandal did an estimated $3 million in damage on Sunday at injection molder Hoosier Pride plastics Inc. in Fort Wayne, Ind. According to this report from The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, someone entered the plant and cut wires,…

Is anyone in the federal government working on cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Yes, according to The Washington Post — and the point person is Holly Bamford, director and chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA)…