Can a Green Business Manufacture in China?
Ecopreneurist recently received a question from a reader about whether manufacturing an eco-friendly product in China is a good idea. We thought his question would make a good topic for discussion and encourage other Ecopreneurist readers to give Chris your advice too by commenting below.
Chris wrote, “I have designed some great eco-friendly items [...that...] are not eco- or green-washed, but [are] designed from the start to be green and are made with fully sustainable and recycled materials… The problem I am having is, the only place I can find a supplier to make these green products is in China. I am afraid that there could be criticism, backlash or negative comments made about the brand because the products are not made in a more eco-friendly perceived Country. I have made a huge effort to have the items made elsewhere without any luck… Do I make the items in China if that is my only option and risk criticism?”
Chris, you are right to see this as an important branding question.
I assume that you have checked into the potential manufacturer and have confidence in that factory’s environmental record and labor practices. If you know that it is possible to manufacture a product in China in a sustainable way, then it is just a matter of either transportation or image. And, for products sold on the West Coast of the US, shipping from China can have less impact on the environment than other transportation means, such as trucking or air freight.
So, let’s assume that your product will be truly green in all ways (materials, manufacturing and shipping) and that your issue is only a matter of impression. What can you do?
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Transparency
Explain your choice of materials and manufacturing facility on your website and on the packaging. A lot of consumer education is still needed around green products. If you know you are operating a green business, but you feel consumers won’t “get it”, explain your choices. You can’t really prevent people from being prejudiced if they are determined to be so, but you can show that not every person and every factory in China works unsustainably.
Authenticity
Operate all aspects of your green business in a truly sustainable way. If your choices of office supplies, packaging, marketing materials, commuting transportation, office equipment, etc. are all made with sustainability in mind, you are less likely to be criticized for any aspect of your business operations. An eco-sensitive consumer who sees waste or hypocrisy, is more likely to assume that major business choices (such as manufacturing location) have been made without the level of environmental concern that you are obviously have.
I hope that other Econpreneurist readers and writers will weigh-in with their thoughts on and/or experience with manufacturing in China.
Leah,
Great advice, I have to agree. I think it might be worth checking out the plant in China to ensure that they are manufacturing in a sustainable way - then the negative becomes a positive as you are one of the first to try to change the way things are manufactured in China.
Over the last year, there has been a lot of negative press on China regarding its manufacturing base. Some of it is deserved (milk), but some of it was not (Mattel).
As a social entrepreneur in China, and someone who has worked with “green” for 5 years in China, I am confident in saying that it is possible to manufacture in a “green” and “sustainable” manner.
Some of the things that you need to keep in mind though are:
1) energy - China relies on coal for 80% of its energy, and the effects on the air quality are visible everyday… and there are no “off the grid” plants in China
2) Shipping - shipping goods from China to the US/ EU is itself against the sustainable grain, and so you should account for that
3) Materials - it is possible to find organic, non-toxic, recylced materials in China. Of good quality. the key will be to make sure you work with your suppliers to maintain the quality of the goods. Malice and greed aside, where I have seen firms get in trouble is that their suppliers are looking to save their clients money, and they will often bring in other materials without letting you know. so, be clear that you want to use certain products because they have certain traits that you believe are more important than money.
4) Labor conditions - recently there has been increased focus on this as economic conditions have pulled a lot of underage workers into factories. However, for your goods, there are options to add a “sustainable” component to your operations here by working with NGOs to develop a team. Several of my friends work with NGOs and have successfully trained teams of women from difficult conditions (economic and otherwise) to produce their goods. It took more upfront investment, but they have found that they products are produced to quality at a very high rate.
In the end, you can produce something green anywhere, but to do it right takes an investment in time and capital. The vast majority of firms who have failed in China did so because they failed to understand this. They looked for short cuts, skimped on the investment, and stopped visiting factories. Mattel being a classic case of this.
If you are prepared to invest the time, and you are willing to develop a relationship with someone you trust, then I do not see any problems for you. there is a strong support network of green manufacturers in Shanghai, and should you find your way here please send us an email…. we’ll hook you up.
r
http://www.china-crossroads.com
http://www.cleanergreenerchina.com
http://www.allroadsleadtochina.com
I do think that it matters greatly. I can’t say that I completely boycott Chinese goods, but I definitely judge companies based on their decision to produce goods overseas. Even if the product is the most eco-friendly one on the planet, shipping it overseas will always increase its carbon footprint. Besides, the human rights record of China, especially in regards to Tibet, is something I have a hard time ignoring just to buy cheaper goods.
I agree that it matters and like Jennifer, I too tend to judge. But i looking at the overall picture, how will the preconceived notions that people hold about China if we do not actually give it a chance to change and prove that change? I say go for it and as Leah says check the authenticity and the transparency of the manufacturing. Make sure that you are green all the way. As long as people know that then it doesn’t matter where things are made. Besides you will be doing a great service to China.
As someone who has gone beyond the preconceived notions and lived & worked in China, allow me to add:
Where there’s smoke there’s fire.
Do not choose a factory sight unseen - and even then, you’ll need regular QC & inspections.
Also, check out this article about choosing manufacturers in China:
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2008/11/what_every_buyer_of_china_prod.html
Good luck!
A great place to start for small businesses looking to source from overseas is the SA8000 standard.
Note: look at, not adhere to
Compliance is not what I’m suggesting.
However a quick read of it is recommended. It’s not at all large, and it will give you a very good idea of questions you can ask suppliers and answers you can give your customers.
Here’s a brief overview I once wrote
http://www.corporate-eye.com/2008/05/social-accountability-international-sa8000-an-overview/
And the main website
http://www.sa-intl.org/
Great thread! But I’m not sure I agree with the concept of sea transport being better for the environment than trucking, even to the West Coast. Although commercial trucks in total emit about 23% of U.S. highway carbon emissions and are responsible for 40% of nitrous oxide emissions and 60% of particulate matter emissions, it is possible to find environmentally responsible truckers that improve upon these statistics considerable. Furthermore, the numbers on trucking emissions are improving every day with projections of GHG emissions from tucking actually projected to decline in the next ten years despite increases in trucking miles travelled. Conversely, to my knowledge, there are no environmentally friendly sea cargo options: two-thirds of the goods from overseas are transported via cargo ship, and one ship emits more pollution than 2,000 diesel trucks. The only form of transportation worse for the environment is air freight.
So, I just don’t see how making a green products and then shipping it overseas isn’t fundamentally green wash. Nearsourcing seems to be the only truly green option. That said, this is a real problem and surely one that isn’t going to be resolved any time in the near future.
There are some good points in the comments from those already sourcing, or experienced in doing business, in China. To truly verify whether your selected manufacturing source is not a dirty factory with little organization and wasteful practices, you need to visit and walk the factory yourself. Even then, given that you won’t have other factories to compare it to (as in, years of experience walking many factories in developing countries), you will still not have much of an idea of what you’re looking at. You will see machines, laborers, bike racks, big metal gates at the entry, and offices with bosses sitting behind drastically over-sized desks.
As a neophyte, what you see will give you a general feeling of whether your factory is good or poor, but it won’t be enough to really understand where your factory stands with respect to quality, environmental and social sustainability. To use a common analogy, it’s similar to a doctor throwing an x-ray of a patient up on the wall and asking me to diagnose the patient. I might see a lot of bones–but I wouldn’t know if things were right or wrong.
The second challenge is that you’re small. You will have little leverage in terms of volume and dollars. If any proposed changes in the name of sustainability don’t make sense for Chinese suppliers business-wise, I wouldn’t expect anything to change. You’ve got to make the business case.
This being said, the sustainability you are after can be slowly built with time and commitment. Over time, your relationship with your supplier will grow and become more important. Your involvement with them on issues of sustainability will also directly help your efforts on quality control–because the more you are involved, the more oversight you have, the better off you’ll be in getting quality out of China and on the road to sustainability.
hi everyone.
I wanted to add that right now I am at a Beijing cleantech conference, and we are discussing a lot of these issues. If you are interested i reading my notes I invite you to http://www.cleanergreenerchina.com.
Tomorrow we will focus on the transport side, but already some great discussion on the reality of what is going on in China.
r
Thank you, everyone, for your valuable input–particularly the stats, links and first-hand experience.
– Leah