To encourage Taiwan’s citizens to engage in “green consumption” by choosing products that have a minimal negative impact on the environment, in 1992 the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Executive Yuan introduced the “Green Mark” system. To date, 109 individual Green Mark standards have been established, and a total of 1,526 “green products” that conform to these standards are on sale; these include cleaning products, IT and home appliance products, water-saving products, electricity-saving products, office equipment, construction materials, etc. The EPA has also provided guidance to 820 retailers to help them transform themselves into “green retailers” and establish online shopping sites for environmentally-friendly products, thereby making it easy and convenient for consumers to purchase these products. Besides asking government agencies to undertake “green procurement”, the EPA has also encouraged private-sector firms to implement environmentally-friendly purchasing. Overall, “green purchasing” in 2008 totaled over NT$7 billion, making a significant contribution to the development of “green production”. In coordination with the government’s issuing of free shopping vouchers to all citizens and the new “Taiwan-made Products are the Best!” campaign, in December 2008 the EPA launched a new series of green product marketing and promotion activities to encourage citizens to purchase environmentally-friendly products, products that help to save energy or water, and green building materials, along with electric bicycles and recycled products, so as to stimulate the growth of Taiwan’s green industries. In this plan to promote green products, the first activity was held at the Meilun Distillery in Hualien County on December 29, 2008. This was followed on January 18 – 19, 2009 by the Green Consumption Happy GO Fair held in Hall One of the Taipei World Trade Center, with a total of 284 stands and 117 business enterprises taking part. The exhibition venue was designed to make the green products the “stars” of the show; the layout was planned so that visitors to the Fair could move around easily with a good view of the stands, creating an atmosphere conducive to relaxed shopping. Extensive use was made of environmentally friendly materials, including energy-saving light-bulbs, recycled packaging materials, environmentally friendly EPE materials, re-usable trusses, etc. This achieved a significant reduction in the amount of waste produced, while also setting a good example by creating a green, environmentally friendly shopping environment. To keep citizen’s interest in green products at a high level, the EPA has planned a series of follow-up activities, “Green Stores Advance” event, to be implemented over the period from January 18 to February 28, 2009. During this period, all consumers who purchase bearing the Green Mark, Energy Saving Mark, Water Saving Mark or Green Construction Materials Mark from a designated Green Retailer will be able to take part in a prize draw and have the chance to win up to NT$1 million. Over 538 manufacturers and around 20,000 consumers participated in the “Green Stores Advance” event, achieving sales of over NT$190 million. Reaction to the campaign was generally positive among manufacturers, the public and local environmental protection departments, as most believed that the campaign successfully stimulated the purchase of green products. According to questionnaire survey result, those involved also agreed that the EPA should organize similar events in the future to promote green consumption and to encourage more people to join in environmental protection efforts.

Green product, Press conference, Green life garden party