When China goes green

Nathalie Bastianelli has been living in China for several years: today she publishes a book Quand la Chine s'éveille verte (When China goes green) where she presents a country in transition, who has made the shift to sustainable development for several years, with a speed only it holds the secret of.

After the COP21 which took place in Paris in 2015, a French official told her that if all countries of the world would do the same, there was hope that things would work out. It is under the impetus of the Government of China who has taken the commitment of building an "ecological civilization" that everything has started to move. It must be said that at that time, air pollution had become very worrying.

Luxury boutiques appeared beginning of the 80s and China became rapidly the world's leading consumer of luxury products, especially since young Chinese are the most connected population on Earth. People purchase western brands in a click, drink wine which is a marker of social status and play golf. This fact is linked to the emergence of a middle-class which has significant impacts in this country the size of a continent.

Regarding sustainable luxury, Chinese consumer expectations are higher than anywhere else in the world: 65,6% in China, 61,9% in Northern America and 59,6% in Western Europe (source French CSA). The reason is a greater environmental awareness where savvy consumers request a considerable amount of information, in particular for cosmetic products. People watch air and water quality figures, pay attention to the origin of their feed with regard to anything relating to health and the body.

But for Nathalie Bastianelli, luxury is not only buying goods, clothing or cosmetics, it can also be to experience a unique moment. She founded WeBelongToChange, a NGO dedicated to promote sustainable development.

At the 2016 Forum of her association, she organized a silent dinner in 2016 where some happy few were invited to meekly enjoy their meal: the colour of the food and its taste seemed exceptional to the guests because their attention was focused on the food. The meal began with a clementine, that needed to be peeled, then cut into wedges and crunched, while being concentrated on what they were doing.

At the end of the dinner, a man came to thank Nathalie Bastianelli for this unprecedented moment for him where he had dinner in all consciousness for the first time in his life. "It was wonderful" she concluded.

"Quand la Chine s'éveille verte" at the Editions de l'Aube >>

Thursday 6 January 2022, 06:01