Four more kinds of products can now apply to be labeled environmental friendly by Chinese authorities.

The State Environmental Protection Administration recently issued technical standards for furniture, wallpaper, shoes and ceramic products and glass dishware.

Three furniture companies and two shoe manufacturers are applying for the China Environmental Label, said Chen Yanping, director of the Environmental Certification Centre of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

No new products have been officially labelled yet, he said.

The China Environmental Label was designed in 1993 by the administration and put into use in 1994 as the only national label for environmental friendly products.

The four new categories raise the total number of products included by the system to 55.
According to Cao Weimin, a staff member at the certification center, about 12,000 products from more than 800 companies in China have so far been labeled.

"In recent years, the number of products getting the label has been on a noticeable rise," Cao said.

In 2001, the number of labeled products reached nearly 1,000. It rose to 1,600 in 2002 and soared to 9,000 in 2003. Many of the labeled products are construction and decoration materials.

Such a rise is to a great extent attributed to the awareness of both consumers and producers.

Chen Jing, who has just moved into her new home in Beijing, said when choosing construction and decoration materials for her home, "one of my key criteria was that the materials must reach environmental standards."

She said frequent media reports on how environmentally-unqualified materials harm human health swayed her opinion.

Like Chen, more and more Chinese consumers are becoming aware of the fact that living in a good environment is part of a better quality life.

And more and more companies realize that their products must meet environment standards if they want to sell well or export to other countries.

Luo Yi, vice-head of the science and technology division of the administration, said the label may also help Chinese products overcome the so-called "green barriers" to international trade or strict environmental standards required for imported products.

Industries such as shoes, furniture and dishware, which take a notable share of China's exports, will surely benefit from the new standards, Luo said.

Luo said the standards are similar to international ones, such as those used in Europe, and may strengthen control over the impact of production on the environment.

(China Daily September 30, 2004)