Navigating the new tides of environmentalism
A look at how Shanghai’s new regulations on waste management have impacted Hangji, a small town in Jiangsu province, which is the major producer of hotel amenities and whose output accounts for 70 percent of the national consumption
Off the top of her head, Lu Changqin is able to say with confidence that bathrooms in W Hotels are stocked with lemon and sage body products from upmarket skincare brand Bliss, while Westin is better known for its refreshing white tea scented products such as soap bars, shampoos and conditioner. Over at JW Marriott, rooms feature an exclusive line of amenities from London-based spa brand Aromatherapy Associates.
What is even more astounding is that the 50-year-old, the oldest daughter of two farmers in east China’s Jiangsu province, has never stayed in any of these luxury hotels before. In fact, she has hardly traveled beyond the Yangtze River Delta where her hometown Hangji is located.
An obscure industrial town located in southeast Yangzhou, Hangji has more than 5,000 companies that produce 70 percent of the hotel amenities used in China every year, and more than one-third of the global supply. In 2018, these suppliers contributed a total industry value of around 40 billion yuan ($5.62 billion).
For decades, the manufacturing industry for hotel amenities has not only accounted for nearly half of the revenue of the little town of just 35,000 people, but also provided a livelihood, and in some cases, a good life, to many people.
It is estimated that one of every two households in the town runs a business. According to the local government, only nine of them run businesses that are publicly listed.
For Lu, the family business was started by her father-in-law in the 1990s. Their workshop first made toothbrushes and later included soaps in their product offerings. Business has been good — the family presently lives in a threefloor villa, owns two cars and runs a workshop with two production lines.
“I am too busy to travel. But as long as there are people traveling and checking into hotels, we have new orders to work on,” said Lu.
But new challenges which surfaced this year have already affected their profit margins. As part of Shanghai’s new regulations on waste management, all hotels and lodging services in the city have been ordered to stop providing six disposable items in their rooms: toothbrushes, combs, razors, nail polishers, shoe wipers and loofahs. However, guests can still request for these items at hotel service centers.
Violations of the new regulations, which took effect on July 1, would result in fines ranging from 500 to 5,000 yuan.
“Orders from hotels have dropped by 30 to 40 percent. And we are not the only company in the town that has been affected,” said Lu.
“The increasing volume of orders from other cities and countries will help to cover for these losses, but we are afraid Shanghai is just the beginning.”
Lu might be right. Gu Jianbin, the director of the market regulation department at the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, told China Daily that the rule is likely to be expanded, both in terms of cities and the types of prohibited amenities.
“The new rule is about allowing Shanghai, if not the entire country, to be connected and in tandem with international trends of environmentalism,” said Gu, whose department is responsible for drafting the rule.
This is not the first time that China has attempted to reduce the use of disposable products. In 2007, ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 13 hotels in the Chinese capital signed an agreement to stop stocking rooms with toothbrushes and other disposable products.
In 2010, the provincial government of South China’s Guangdong province banned all disposable products from hotel rooms. Three years later, the local government updated the ban with the introduction of a maximum penalty of 10,000 yuan.
As one of the world’s most competitive hospitality markets, Shanghai is now home to nearly 7,000 hotels and hostels that have a total of 800,000 beds. According to statistics from the municipal government, average room occupancy rates have generally been between 60 and 70 percent.
Jin Yiying, a professor at Tsinghua University’s environment school, noted that the regulation could result in a change of consumer behavior.
“It could exert a subtle yet significant influence where guests gradually change their habits and decide to bring their own toothbrushes or combs wherever they go,” said Jin.
Marriott International, the world’s largest hospitality company, estimated that the new rule has affected 46 of its properties and more than 8,000 associates in Shanghai.
Richard Taffs, vice president of the company’s operations department in the Greater China region, noted that the regulation has provided Marriott with a unique opportunity to be a force for good.
“We recognize that how we do business is as important as the business we do. Incorporating environmental and sustainable initiatives into our business is not only the right thing to do — it also has a direct impact on our profits and beyond,” said Taffs.
In Hangji, industry leaders and players are also viewing the rule more as an opportunity than a threat.
“It pushes us to innovate and introduce new products that meet the new needs,” said Lan Jin, general manager of Liangmianzhen, a company in Hangji which originated in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region as a manufacturer of traditional Chinese medicinal toothpaste.
As the head of the company’s Jiangsu branch, Lan expanded the product offerings of the local factory in 2004. A native of Hangji who started his career as a local distributor for Liangmianzhen, Lan was one of the first to add hotel amenities to the manufacturing offerings of the town, which has a history of making toothbrushes since the early 19th century. In fact, the local government used to boast that the first toothbrush in China, which was made of cow bone and horsehair, was invented by the town.
But it was not until the 1980s when China opened its doors to the world that manufacturers of toothbrushes began to mushroom in the town. However, by the turn of the millennium, Lan and several other veterans of the industry saw new opportunities in the domestic travel industry and decided to invest in the production of other amenities.
In 2018, the revenue that Liangmianzhen made from manufacturing and selling hotel amenities exceeded 500 million yuan, accounting for about one-third of the overall business.
“Looking back, tourism is probably the only industry in China that has enjoyed consecutive doubledigit growth over the past decades despite the slowing down of economic growth. Looking ahead, we are confident that the industry is set for more robust and high-quality growth as more Chinese are eager to see the world,” said Lan.
“Therefore, it’s more important to find where the new growth engine is rather than lamenting about the current situation,” he added.
Although orders of the six prohibited items at Lan’s factory have decreased by about 10 percent during the first half of this year, the company has not hesitated to channel more investment into product development. One of the company’s latest innovations is a toothbrush with replaceable brushes.
Lan noted that while hotel guests are encouraged to bring their own toothbrushes, there are mounting concerns that toothbrushes packed in suitcases for a long time are likely to contain large amounts of bacteria.
“It’s not rocket science. But as a business, we spot the problem and provide a solution. In a burgeoning market, that’s how a business can make profits,” he said.
It could exert a subtle yet significant influence where guests gradually change their habits and decide to bring their own toothbrushes or combs wherever they go.”
Jin Yiying, professor at Tsinghua University