One Month After the New Rules Took Effect: Express Packaging "Slimming" Shows Initial Results, Green Transformation Accelerates

August 6, 2026

It has been a full month since July 1, when China's first mandatory national standard targeting excessive express packaging, the Requirements for Limiting Excessive Express Packaging, was officially implemented. Recent visits to multiple regions and industry data show that the phenomenon of "big boxes for small items" in express packaging has dropped markedly, but tape abuse and the "bloated" packaging of traditional goods still need further governance, and the industry's green transformation has entered deep water.

I. Express packaging: standardization rate rises, while local irregularities remain

According to data previously released by the State Post Bureau, the packaging standardization rate of the whole industry has reached 86%. In Lanzhou and other places, express delivery companies have, by promoting narrow-width eco-friendly tape, intelligent box selection systems and the "direct dispatch in original cartons" model, reduced tape consumption per parcel by about 25%, and cut consumables for certain specialty parcels by more than 30%. However, reporters visiting Hefei, Kunming and other places found that although "nesting-doll-style" packaging is hard to find, oversized wide tape (exceeding 45 mm) and "layer-after-layer wrapping" remain common. Some merchants, to avoid liability for transport damage, still tend to overuse tape and cushioning materials, resulting in a gap between policy and enforcement of the new rules.

II. Traditional goods: tea and zongzi gift boxes still appear "bloated"

Compared with the express delivery end, governing excessive packaging of traditional offline goods faces greater challenges. A reporter's investigation found that tea gift boxes in Hangzhou and Kunming and zongzi gift boxes in the Shanghai and Anhui markets still have problems of excess packaging void ratios. A Longjing tea gift box with a net content of 200 grams has a packaging void ratio as high as 58.3%, far exceeding the 30% limit in the national standard. Industry insiders point out that profit-driven motives and consumers' "face needs" are the main causes, and, combined with the broad coverage and difficulty of supervision, such problems are "chronic and hard to cure."

III. Policies and trends: multi-party collaboration to build a long-term mechanism

To thoroughly curb excessive packaging, various regions are accelerating legislation and the implementation of standards. Anhui Province has issued an implementation plan for governance, making clear that by the end of 2027 a long-term mechanism for the full implementation of green packaging standards will be established; deputies to the people's congress have also suggested formulating dedicated regulations, working from multiple dimensions such as primary responsibility and the recycling system. Experts suggest that governing excessive packaging requires joint efforts from the whole society: the government should strengthen supervision and the cost of violations, enterprises should optimize design and apply green materials, the logistics end should improve sorting capabilities, and consumers should embrace green concepts and consciously resist excessive packaging.

With the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan advocating a green and low-carbon lifestyle, the "slimming" campaign of the packaging industry has extended from a single link to the entire industrial chain. In the future, through technological innovation and institutional improvement, it will achieve a win-win of economic and ecological benefits.

——This article is reprinted from the China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379846.html