The China Consumers Association issued a Mid-Autumn Festival consumer warning: the packaging of moon cakes is simple and appropriate – Xinhua English.news.cn

Today (September 2), the China Consumers Association issued a Mid-Autumn Festival consumer warning: moon cake packaging, simple and moderate is just right. Actively choose products with simple and moderate packaging, resist luxurious and wasteful packaging products, and abandon flashy “face projects”.

It is understood that in recent years, the phenomenon of excessive packaging of commodities has become more and more serious, and luxury and excessive packaging of rice dumplings, moon cakes, etc. have emerged one after another, which not only directly damages the rights and interests of consumers, making consumers bear unnecessary expenses, but also causes many problems such as waste of resources and environmental pollution. , has aroused widespread concern in the society.

From the perspective of protecting the environment and resources, my country, as a big country in the world‘s packaging industry, is currently facing serious problems caused by excessive packaging. According to a survey by the Environmental and Resource Protection Committee of the National People’s Congress, packaging waste in my country accounts for more than 10% of urban household waste, and its volume constitutes more than 30% of household waste; the total annual packaging waste reaches 150 million tons, of which More than 70% are caused by excessive packaging. A large amount of paper, tape, plastic foam and other materials are consumed in packaging. If they cannot be recycled and utilized in a timely and effective manner, it will cause waste; and it will also lead to excessive volume of goods and waste of transportation space. In addition, excessive packaging will increase the workload of garbage disposal and cause environmental pollution. Garbage such as packaging bags, tapes, and foams are difficult to handle and degrade, and even some packaging and gap fillers are chemicals. Improper disposal will have a greater negative impact on the ecological environment.

From the perspective of protecting consumers’ rights and interests, merchants increase profits by attracting purchases through excessive packaging, and some consumers gain a “ceremonial sense” by purchasing over-packaged products. was compromised, increasing unnecessary spending. For consumers, the huge and complicated packaging box can only be thrown away, and only the products “in it” have real use value. The cost of packaging is included in the price of the product and is ultimately passed on to the consumer. If all merchants make the trend of over-packaging intensify for the purpose of increasing profits, over time, only over-packaged products can be seen on the shelves, and consumers can only be forced to accept them, and eventually lose their right to choose.

In order to save resources, protect the environment, and protect the rights and interests of consumers, on May 24, 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standards Commission) approved the National Standard No. 1 Amendment to Restrict Excessive Packaging of Commodities for Food and Cosmetics (GB 23350-2021). (hereinafter referred to as the “Standard”), the “Standard” regulations on moon cakes and rice dumplings will be implemented from August 15, 2022. The “Standard”‘s “downsizing” of moon cake packaging is mainly reflected in four aspects. One is to limit the number of packaging layers, requiring that the number of packaging layers for moon cakes should not exceed three layers at most; Avoid “big cakes and small cakes”; the third is to reduce packaging costs. For mooncakes with a sales price of more than 100 yuan, the packaging cost will be reduced from 20% to 15% of the sales price. For mooncakes with a sales price of less than 100 yuan, The proportion of packaging cost remains unchanged at 20%. At the same time, it is required that the packaging materials shall not use precious metals and mahogany materials; fourth, the requirements for mixed packaging are strict, and mooncakes should not be mixed with other products.

It is everyone’s responsibility to save resources and protect the environment. The so-called “ceremonial sense” brought by various flashy “face projects” is not a symbol of advanced civilization, but a vulgar and backward behavior, which should be resisted by the whole society. . On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the China Consumers Association is carrying out large-scale social supervision work, urging operators to strictly abide by the relevant provisions of the “Standard”, and carry out moderate saving, green and low-carbon, civilized and healthy packaging design, focusing on the color of moon cakes. , fragrance, taste and other quality, and strive to allow consumers to spend money to buy benefits, spend money to buy satisfaction. The China Consumers Association encourages consumers to take the initiative to participate in social supervision, record excessive packaging and “high-priced” mooncakes that violate laws and regulations, public order and good customs, and report them to local market supervision departments and consumer associations.

At the same time, the China Consumers Association advocates that consumers should practice a green and low-carbon lifestyle when choosing moon cakes during festivals, pursue a civilized and healthy life concept, actively choose products with simple and moderate packaging, resist luxurious and wasteful packaging products, and abandon flashy and unrealistic packaging products. “Face Project”, while celebrating traditional festivals, tasting traditional food, and sharing the traditional culture of family reunion, inheriting and carrying forward the traditional virtues of diligence and thrift of the Chinese nation, and jointly creating a sustainable consumption environment that is green, environmentally friendly and resource-saving.

(Editor in charge: Tan Mengtong)