The ban on bags has energized my work

Cai Jinping, 54, co-founder of the Lhasa Ban-White Association and owner of a factory that makes reusable bags and environmentally friendly products

I constantly travel between Tibet and East China, and I have a deep love of Lhasa's blue skies. Sadly, in my hometown by the Yangtze River, blue skies are now a distant memory because of pollution.

I am originally from the eastern province of Anhui.

I came to Lhasa with relatives in my early 20s, looking for business opportunities, just like other fortune seekers who came to Tibet at that time.

For more than a decade, my work involved the production and sale of plastics, but in 2005, Lhasa adopted regulations to limit production of the material. Instead of ruining me, it enlightened me. I quickly switched to making cloth bags, paper wrappings and other "green" products.

At the beginning, I contacted some environmental groups to offer them free cloth bags and supported their campaigns against the illegal use of plastics. I also tried to lower my costs, hoping that green products would be better received by consumers.

Though a decade has passed since Tibet banned plastics, the problem remains serious－just take a walk around the markets. The higher cost of green products is part of the reason, along with inadequate engagement with the people.

We have been talking with local political advisers, hoping they will deal with the problem and initiate changes. They have their own concerns, but for policies to work people's demands for affordable replacements must be taken into consideration.

I wish more companies and individuals would join us. Now, we have the Lhasa Ban-White Association and we hope it will encourage schools to ban plastics in the near future.

Every student can initiate changes in their family's behavior and refuse to use plastics, and that would be a big societal revolution.

Cai Jinping spoke with Li Lei.