Beijing’s ‘bubble families’ seek a safer, greener life

SHANGHAI: Liu Nanfeng has five air purifiers, two air-quality monitors and a water purification system in his Beijing apartment. He buys organic.

But still he worries for his 2-year-old daughter’s health.

“I feel safe at home, but when we go out to the mall, the indoor and outdoor air are the same,” the 34-year-old screenwriter said. “It feels hopeless.”

China’s persistent pollution and regular product-safety scandals are driving an increasing number of consumers to build bubbles of clean air, purified water and safe products at home and in their cars.

Beijing’s city government has twice this month issued pollution “red alerts”, the first time it has triggered its most severe smog warning.

While there is no official data on their numbers, market analysts say Liu’s tastes reflect the concerns of a large and growing group of well-heeled urban consumers.

Foreign and domestic companies are starting to take notice of what could be called “bubble families”, a demographic whose emergence has been fuelled by new technologies and the rapid spread of e-commerce.

Though air quality data has been available for years from the Chinese government, public awareness of environmental threats is on the rise, especially since the February online release of journalist Chai Jing’s environmental documentary Under the Dome.

Websites such as Alibaba’s Taobao.com have made it easier to find products from overseas that are seen as safer. – Reuters