Less than ten days after announcing the nationwide ban on ultra-thin bags, the country's largest plastic sac maker, Henan-based Huaqiang, has already closed its doors. The closure meant not only an annual 250,000 ton weight, the factory's plastic bag production capacity, off the Earth's back but also a 20,000-strong mass of unemployed souls.

At first glance, I'm tempted to go back to the dark side with some riff like: "Sustainability is too dang unsustainable!" But fortunately, that statement looks about as credible in writing as it does in real life. Yes, people NEED jobs, but I have faith that just as China seems to be delivering on its evil-polluting crackdown, it will come through on its promise to develop sustainability into big business.

Corporate control is a global phenomenon, but in China that control is colored by the state. So when the government says they are going green, you better believe the corporations are behind them ... or getting there.

In the case of the Huaqiang crew, it's easy for me to say the ends justify the means from my cushy Shanghai office. But instead I'll say, I just hope we can pull through on this one with the knowledge that other Henan companies, like Henan Tianguan Group, are going degradable and they're doing it even bigger: annual production 500,000 tons.

In the grand scheme of things, bigger isn’t always better. But until there are enough local and sustainable jobs out there: Let's hear it for Henan Tianguan Group and all of China's solar-powered startups.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-02/27/content_6487153.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008-02/26/content_6487509.htm