China beats US in green shopping bags

New York might consider itself the fashion capital of the world, yet it's surely not as fashionable as Shanghai or many other Chinese cities when it comes to shopping bags.

Various cloth and canvas shopping bags have become a trend in supermarkets and on streets in many Chinese cities after the central government ban on free plastic bags went into effect in June last year. Carrying a cloth bag is not only the right thing to do to save money, but also to mitigate the effects of the worsening natural environment.

A report from the National Development and Reform Commission three months ago showed that the use of plastic bags in China's supermarkets was reduced by two-thirds during the first year of the law's enforcement. The China Retail Chain Association said two months ago that 40 billion fewer plastic bags were consumed by supermarkets nationwide during the same period.