Guest post from Alex Geertz, who is attending the Fifth China Branding Roundtable in Beijing on September 18 and 19.

Going “green” has become a growing trend in the US and European markets, and is increasingly influencing consumers and their purchase decisions. But is the “green revolution” reaching China? Russ Meyer, Chief Strategy Officer for Landor Associates presented a recent study conducted jointly by WPP agencies Landor Associates, Cohn & Wolfe and Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates on Green Brands in China. The study found that Chinese consumers are indeed concerned with the state of the environment in China and many are willing to pay a premium for Green products.

One interesting finding is that some of the top green product categories for Chinese consumers are housecleaning products, cosmetics and groceries–all products that you put “on or in” your body. This corresponds with CIC’s experience tracking consumer opinion via Internet Word of Mouth on blogs and message boards where we see “personal safety” among the most discussed attributes in cosmetics and baby care products, especially in light of the recent milk powder crisis. In China, it may be that a “green” brand may be equated with a “trusted” brand.

Russ also emphasized that brands cannot stray too far from their core brand message. A company making mp3 accessories can reduce the size and amount of packaging to lower costs and lessen the harm to the environment, but they still need to make good earphones.

Pricing also remains a key concern in China. While it may be the case in some markets consumers are willing to pay more money for green products, this may not be the case in China.

Reusable Shopping Bags Created by Online Communities

We saw very little buzz about plastic shopping bags until the government passed a law forcing stores to charge for them. This law not only increased talk, it actually spurred consumers in online communities to create their own “green bags.”

For more on the Landor study and its findings, see the press release here.