Handkerchiefs set to nose ahead of tissues
( 2001-06-05 07:32) (9)
A national campaign is underway to encourage people to use handkerchiefs instead of tissues to help prevent cancer and to be kinder to the environment.
For many Chinese people, a handkerchief is both familiar and strange. Just a few years ago it was a daily necessity.
But as more and more people choose to have a "throwaway'' lifestyle, the "hanky'' has gradually given way to a tissue made of paper and faded out of daily life like many other items which have been replaced by disposable things.
But did you know you run the risk of getting cancer from tissues?
The China Consumers Association (CCS) warned last week that some illegal tissues are made with a kind of organic compound called fluorescent whitening agent, forbidden by national industrial standards, to make them look whiter and therefore more attractive to consumers.
The compound contains a chemical which causes cancer and is very dangerous to humans, according to research.
On top of all this, tissues also have other disadvantages, according to the CSS.
The association is urging Chinese consumers to stop using tissues and use the old-fashioned handkerchiefs made of fabric instead. It has even launched a campaign dubbed "Pick up the handkerchief you have dropped.''
And there are also environmental reasons to stop using tissues. Sources with the CSS indicate that to produce a ton of them, 17 trees would have to be chopped down. In 1998, Chinese people used 2.18 million tons of tissues, the second highest country in the world, meaning a lot of trees were felled. However, to change habits is a tough task.
Most stores have stopped selling handkerchiefs, so even if you want to buy them you might not be able to find them. The country's biggest handkerchief producer, Baihua Industrial Group based in East China's Jiangsu Province, exports over 100 million yuan (US$12 million) worth of handkerchiefs every year.
But in China only 5 million yuan (US$604,000) worth are sold.
On the other hand, the country's tissue business is booming. According to the CSS, there are now at least 320 factories producing paper napkins.
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