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Celine Ge

Who’s cashing in on China’s smog?
The pungent air smothering China’s major cities has raised concerns for millions of residents over the long term health effects on the elderly, the infirm and the young. For now, some entrepreneurs are turning crisis into opportunity.
Product: “Anti-smog” tea
Company: Uni-President China Holdings Ltd.
The Taiwan instant noodles producer and soft drinks bottler launched a tea called Lilai Wusan (梨來霧散), which is a concoction of pear juice, honey, dried chrysanthemums and mint essence that “moistens the lungs and combats smog.”
“You will not have to wear face masks if you bring me along,” an advertisement said, a claim that hasn’t been endorsed by doctors.
Product : Facial masks
Company: 3M Co., Uvex Group
Nobody ventures outdoors during Beijing’s bleak winters without a face mask, not for the cold but as protection against the putrid air from open coal fires.
Facial mask sales on Tmall and taobao platforms more than tripled in November, with masks sold out at 7-Eleven stores.
The demand has also spilled over to brands including Honeywell(US) and Cleancool(China), according to 10bandchina.com.
Product: Air purifier
Company: IQAir, Dyson Ltd, Xiaomi
Dyson chose China for its 2015 global launch of a purifier that eliminates 99 per cent of harmful particles, a shrewd marketing move that bolstered sales by 35 per cent, underpinned mostly by demand in the world’s most polluted cities.
The real Dyson model costs 4,114 yuan (US$600), while the Swiss-made IQAir costs 20,000 yuan, driving some budget shoppers to Xiaomi. The smartphone maker’s Mi Air Purifier sells for a modest 900 yuan.
Many home-grown producers have air purifiers on the market too, including Gree Electric Appliances Inc, Midea Group Co. and Haier Electronics Group Co.
Product: Smog-evading tour packages
Companies: Hotels in Sanya, Phuket, Xiamen, Xishuangbanna
Every winter, hordes of tourists from China’s frigid north pack the beaches, golf courses and malls of Sanya, Xiamen, Lijiang or Kunming to escape the smog.
Tour packages under the “Smog Avoidance” label doubled during the 2016 Christmas and New Year holidays, according to Ctrip’s data. The most sought-after destinations were Sanya, Xiamen, and Phuket. Some tourists even turned into property buyers, leading to a real estate boom in Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province.
Product: Bottled Air
Company: Breathe Ezy, Aethaer
“Air farming” is the to-die-for product of these acrid times in China. Bottled fresh air from the verdant hills of Europe, Canada and New Zealand is sold to affluent -- and desperately gullible -- Chinese customers.
Among those cashing in is Breathe Ezy, which ships canisters of air from the South Island of New Zealand for 169 yuan (HK$189) each.


Aethaer collects air from the British countryside in Somerset, Wales and Dorset while Vitality Air offers oxygen from Canada’s Rocky Mountains.
So if zipping off to New Zealand isn’t an option, a canister of South Island air may just offer 150 brief puffs of respite from Beijing’s smog.


Beijing seeks to drive up China’s much-needed consumption by upping NEV number plate quota

Link between clear air and fewer suicides is another reason to act

2 dead and dozens hurt in China after blast tears down 4-storey building near Beijing

Chinese team tests lung treatment that may be first to reverse damage from chronic disease affecting 700 million people

Beijing air pollution

Who’s cashing in while China chokes?

A man wearing a face mask walks on a footbridge as buildings shrouded in haze stands in the background in Beijing, China, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Toxic haze that settled over much of China during the last three weeks has triggered a flight reflex among residents, leading to the rising popularity of smog avoidance travel packages to far-flung locations such as Iceland and Antarctica. Photo: Bloomberg

Beijing smog hits worst level

Beijing smog scarier than Sars, says medical expert

A large TV screen in Beijing's Tiananmen square shows a piece of blue sky against a smoggy backdrop on Friday. Photo: Simon Song

Heavy traffic in downtown Beijing as the sky is darkened by smog in the early afternoon on Friday. Photo: Simon Song

Smog shrouds Beijing on Thursday morning. Photo: Simon Song

Scientists find bacteria in Beijing smog that lead to antibiotic resistance

A man wears a face mask as he visits a park near the Forbidden City during heavy smog in Beijing on November 4. Photo: AFP

epa05634659 Smog hovers over a main road in Beijing, China, 17 November 2016. Reports stated that Beijing authorities warned of harmful levels of air quality and issued an orange alert beginning 17 November, the second-highest in a four-level warning system. Authorities projected that smog would persist for at least three days. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

epa05634656 Tourists wear protective masks while going around Tiantan Park in Beijing, China, 17 November 2016. Reports stated that Beijing authorities warned of harmful levels of air quality and issued an orange alert beginning 17 November, the second-highest in a four-level warning system. Authorities projected that smog would persist for at least three days. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

China pollution makes recruiter's job more difficult

The China Central Television building amid the heavy haze of pollution experienced by Beijingers last week. Photo: Reuters

China pollution pledge: Beijing to cut 60pc of power sector emissions by 2020

In this photo taken on November 19, 2015, smoke belches from a coal-fired power station near Datong, in China's northern Shanxi province. A Chinese pledge to upgrade the nation's coal-fired power plants to cut pollution is aimed mainly at soothing domestic fears over dangerous smog, rather than tackling climate change emissions, analysts said on December 3. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

China’s pledge to cut coal consumption at its power plants to help reduce pollution comes after health concerns over dangerous levels of smog that engulfed the capital and other areas of northern China earlier this week. Photo: AFP

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Here are some of the companies and entrepreneurs seizing on the business opportunities created by China’s chronic air pollution


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New | Who’s cashing in while China chokes?

Here are some of the companies and entrepreneurs seizing on the business opportunities created by China’s chronic air pollution