Regulate appropriate packaging related laws from the perspective of sustainable development (I)

The efficiency of resource utilization has increased significantly. The energy consumption per unit of GDP has fallen by about 20% from the end of the “10th Five-Year Plan” period. The fundamental deterrence of deterioration of the ecological environment is the main objective of the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan”. In order to implement this goal, proper packaging should be promoted on commodity packaging. In order to protect the environment and realize sustainable economic development, China has realized the necessity of proper packaging. The state has successively issued the "Cleaner Production Law", "The Law of the People's Republic of China on Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control," and "General Rules on the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods." And a series of relevant laws and regulations such as “Mooncake Mandatory Standards”, just because of the over-regulation of product packaging regulations in China, lack of corresponding supporting measures, and poor operability, it is difficult to regulate excessive packaging behavior, and it needs to be further improved.

First, the necessity of moderate packaging
Moderate packaging is in terms of packaging “excessive”, and its essence is not only to suppress the excessive of commodity packaging, but also has the in-depth role of establishing a conservation-oriented society and promoting sustainable economic development.

1. From the perspective of sustainable development. The sustainable development strategy means that the socio-economic development must be linked with the natural environment and social environment, coordinate the economic construction with the resources and the environment, and adapt the population growth to the development of the social productive forces so as to ensure a long-term strategy for achieving a virtuous cycle of social development. There is nothing wrong with the packaging itself. The key is that excessive packaging will consume too much resources, not only increase the production cost of the producers and the purchase cost of the consumers, but also cause the waste to pollute the environment and affect the sustainable development of the economy. According to reports, of the more than 600 cities in the country, more than 200 are surrounded by various types of garbage, which is mainly due to excessive packaging. At present, 30% of the volume of municipal solid waste consists of various types of packaging. At the same time, the problem of packaging waste disposal and waste recycling, classification, and reuse are also a huge expenditure, requiring the country to invest large sums of money each year. And some chemical products that cannot be degraded are even a lasting hazard to our living environment. At present, the most effective treatment method for domestic garbage is to reduce, recycle, and recycle, of which reduction is at the top of governance. Limited resources are becoming a constraint on China's economic development. Only by reducing packaging waste at the source can we reduce the burden of follow-up governance and effectively control the pollution of the environment.

2. Look from the developed countries in the world to promote the trend of proper packaging legislation. All countries in the world, especially some developed countries, have adopted legislation to formulate strict mandatory technical standards on the grounds of protecting the ecological and natural environment and human health and promote appropriate packaging. Germany was the first country in the world to promote the recycling of packaging materials and took the lead in devising a circular economy law. In Germany, 10 years ago, it began to advocate “unpackaged” and “simple packaging” for its products, emphasizing that packaging should not be harmful to the ecological environment, human health and recycling or recycling, thus saving resources and energy. In South Korea, the government introduced mandatory legal norms to guide overpackaging. Excessive packaging behavior is regarded as an illegal act. If manufacturers do not comply with government regulations and reduce the packaging ratio and layers of products, they will be fined up to 3 million won. In order to prevent deceptive packaging, Japan has formulated the "New Packaging Guidelines." In addition, the "Details of Appropriate Packaging of Gift Boxes" stipulated by Tokyo, Japan, also stipulates that the gap in the packaging container should not exceed 20% of the entire container in principle; the gap between the product and the goods must be less than 1 cm; The gap between the inner wall of the packing box must be kept below 5 mm; the packing cost must be less than 15% of the price of the whole product.

In addition, the United States and Canada have a clear definition of excessive packaging. There are also many countries that require manufacturers, importers, and retailers to take responsibility for the recycling and remanufacturing of packaging materials. Denmark also took the lead in implementing the "green tax" system and so on. Throughout Western legislation, strict laws have been formulated in order to curb excessive packaging and promote proper packaging.

3. From the perspective of adapting to international trade standards. Economic integration has made international economic exchanges more frequent and the degree of freedom in international trade has increased. However, many developed countries have built green barriers to restrict the import of products without green signs. Green barrier means that in the field of international trade, developed countries adopt a form of complicated environmental protection conventions, laws, regulations, standards, signs, and other forms to restrict entry of goods, which is a kind of non-tariff barrier. Among them, the environmental packaging system is an important part of this. Once the green barriers have been proposed, they have received widespread attention. It has widely impacted the export of China's agricultural products, medicine, and garments. Many countries also use the ISO14001 environmental management standards to reject or restrict imports. In addition, in order to promote the coordination of international trade and environmental protection, the WTO agreement contains many environmental provisions. After China's accession to the WTO, over-packaging of products by Chinese companies will undoubtedly be crowded out in foreign trade and will be at a competitive disadvantage. If an enterprise wants to go abroad for export, it must also establish the concept of green marketing and implement the concept of appropriate packaging and green packaging in the packaging of goods.

4. From the perspective of long-term development of the company. In addition to preventing the damage of the goods in circulation, the packaging can also improve the quality of the goods and enhance the sales competitiveness of the goods in the market. Enterprises rely on over-packaging of goods, and in the short-term, they may reach the goal of attracting consumers and expanding the market share of the goods, resulting in high profits. However, companies do not rely on internal quality to dominate the market, but rely on packaging to please or even confuse consumers, resulting in "special packaging, first-class prices, second-class quality" abnormal market behavior. In the long run, as consumers become more rational, judgments on the value of products, care for the environment, and implementation of ethical consumption all make the product packaging moderate, so as to meet the core needs of consumers and win consumers. loyalty. Excessive packaging will seriously damage the image of the company's reputation, make the company lose its core competitiveness, and ultimately affect the long-term development of the company.

5. From the perspective of satisfying consumer demand. Overpacking caters to the needs of a small group of consumers and for most consumers it constitutes fraud. Consumers, especially vanity consumers, are the most direct victims of excessive packaging of goods. Excessive packaging of goods mainly occurs in the food, health care products, and cosmetics industries. Most of the commodities in these industries belong to posterior goods. Consumers often rely on packaging to determine the value of goods. Manufacturers in order to obtain high profits, through the increase in packaging costs, exaggerating the packaging function, the huge amount of packaging costs into product added value, imposed on consumers, in violation of the interests of consumers. Products rely on the visual impact of excessive packaging, giving people a high-grade illusion, when it was discovered at the time of consumption, it was not the product itself that was purchased at a high price, but a pile of useless packaging consisting of foam and hard paper. For most consumers, the consumer is buying for the quality of the product. What the consumer needs is the product itself, not the one-time use value package.

Second, the implementation of appropriate packaging obstacle analysis
1. Reasonable definition of appropriate packaging. One of the basic preconditions for advocating a proper packaging of products is the rational definition of packaging and excessive packaging. According to the “Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive” passed by the EU Council in December 1994, packaging refers to “all expendable resources used to dress, protect, control, transport, and display goods” and clearly specifies that the packaging of the product is not Above 25% of the package volume, the packaging cost must not exceed 15% of the product value. For some heat-expanded and expanded liquid products, reserve capacity should be made, for example, the British government sets aside 5% of the reserve capacity of metal drums. China's packaging industry started relatively late and flourished in the more than ten years after the reform and opening up, although since April 2005, the newly revised “Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law” clearly stipulates that manufacturers will “over-pack” products. It is an illegal act, but due to the various technical standards are still in the brewing stage, relevant laws and regulations are not perfect, there is no clear industry standard, professional ethics nor sound, "excessive packaging" in the "degree" in the current law enforcement In the process, it is still difficult to grasp, and it is difficult to effectively supervise the over-packaging of goods in the industry through measures such as public opinion and practice standards.

2. The drive for companies to maximize profits. An enterprise is a profitable economic organization. The pursuit is first and foremost the maximization of its own interests. The maximization of interests is the driving force for the survival and development of the company. The characteristics of the economic man determine that the company follows the principle of low input and high yield in production and management.

In the 1980s, due to the underdevelopment of the packaging industry, the price reductions caused by the poor appearance of China's export products amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Businesses began to realize that packaging can increase the value of products and bring profits to enterprises, but there have also been irregularities in sales through excessive packaging. For example, Northeast Ginseng participated in the Canton Fair more than a decade ago and was exhibited in a packaging of 30 kg. Later, in a small package of 5 kg, the price per kilogram was increased by 30%, and then a red ribbon was added to the waist of each ginseng and a box package was added. The selling price would be several times higher. Some companies grind ginseng into powder and put it in capsules. They are first packed in a small paper box, then they are combined into a big silk box, and finally they are put into a brocade bag. After the packaging is completed, the price is naturally multiplied several times. The value of the goods actually obtained by a person is only a small part of the price, and the enterprise has obtained huge profits. With the attraction of huge profits, more and more companies are beginning to compare their packaging with each other to do surface work.

3. Bad consumer attitudes contribute to excessive packaging. The reason why companies are over-packed is because there is market demand and there is a luxury consumption style in the lives of ordinary people. At present, with the development of the economy, ordinary people have not yet formed healthy consumption habits in the process of becoming wealthy. There is a mentality of comparison in consumption, and to a certain extent, this kind of “excessive packaging wind” breeds and spreads. With the development of social economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, when consumers purchase goods, they not only look at the price, quality, and functionality of the product, but also intentionally or unintentionally focus on the packaging of the goods. A well-designed package can satisfy the aesthetic needs of consumers, reflect the social class of consumers, and increase their sense of belonging to their class. If the purchased product is a gift, the packaging becomes even more important. People began to gradually develop from packaging that ignores goods to focusing on the packaging of goods, and even over-packed the packaging of goods.

Excessive packaging has its specific social and psychological basis in China. Oriental culture values ​​reciprocity more than Western culture. The expensive health care products need to have a decent packaging to set off their nobleness and show the style of gift giving. Therefore, the "abdomen empty" luxury packaged health products have a more market than the simple health supplements. Excessively packaged goods are mainly concentrated on gifts that are “not bought or bought without purchase”, including private purchases or private purchases and vain consumer demands for the purpose of trading for public funds. The over-packaging of goods caters to the psychology of consumption of some people in China.