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WORLD> Green Moves
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TV celeb pushes the green life
By Xiao Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-20 07:57
Jin Yunrong (Tammy Liu) is one of an increasing number of fashion celebrities across China promoting environmental thinking. Film star Zhou Xun is involved in the "Green Commuting" campaign, which encourages public transport over private vehicles. Jolin Tsai, one of the biggest pop singers in China, recently launched a natural material nail polish and fashion model Lin Chi-Ling has started touting reusable shopping bags. But perhaps none of them have done as much to increase public education on the environment as fashion maven Jin, who uses her TV programs to raise awareness about easy environmental choices. "My environmental thinking comes from my husband. He constantly badgered me about what I initially thought were trivial things, such as sorting recycling and trash, but eventually I came to understand that changing many small habits can have a big impact," she said.
Jin was ahead of popular sentiment in China about the environment, according to her colleagues. "Years ago, when we didn't fully realized the importance and urgency of environmental problems, Jin had already started trying to solve them," said Li Jing, Jin's long time co-host. "Once she brought a box of reusable chopsticks for all the staff on our program, for instance, and asked us not to use disposable chopsticks any more," said Li. "Jin brought these kinds of environmental ideas to people around her and to huge audiences through our TV programs," said Li.
The two women eventually remade their show so that it combined tips on beauty and elegance with tips on environmental protection. "What we are trying to do, is not change people's way of life at once, but to make more women at least start to think about the environment," said Jin. The show's target audience, women, is a key demographic to enlist in the drive to make Chinese people's behavior more enviromentally-friendly. Chinese women tend to control their families' daily consumption and decide which products their families use and which habits they follow. Environmental concerns are often linked with health and safety, which are both significant issues mothers tend to be concerned about. "Women who accept ecologically-friendly products and environmental habits are likely to spread them to the rest of their families," said Jin.
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