Cycling enthusiasts pedal in a park in Eshan town, Fanchang district, Wuhu city, east China's Anhui Province. (Photo/Xiao Benxiang)

From bringing their own cups to coffee shops and buying clothing made from eco-friendly materials, to choosing second-hand products and driving new energy vehicles, today's young Chinese consumers are increasingly embracing "green" consumption, gradually turning low-carbon, environmentally friendly living into a popular trend.

In February 2025, China's State Administration for Market Regulation and four other departments unveiled a three-year action plan to improve the country's consumer environment, with a particular focus on areas such as digital consumption, green consumption and health consumption.

Rise of second-hand platforms

Lin, a college student interning in Beijing, was browsing Idle Fish, or Xianyu, a second-hand mobile marketplace spun from Alibaba's Taobao. A nearly new Canon zoom lens priced at 299 yuan (about $ 40.91) caught her eye. She zoomed in on the photos, checked the reviews, and got ready to bargain. Haggling is half the fun, she said.

Many young people share her enthusiasm. An online survey found that over half of respondents shop on second-hand platforms, with nearly 60 percent citing cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits.

Customers browse books at a second-hand bookstore in Yangpu district, Shanghai. (Photo/Wang Chu)

Xianyu reported over 600 million registered users in 2024, with those born after 1995 and 2000 making up more than half. Orders for recycled items grew nearly 50 percent year-on-year, and over 4 million idle items are listed daily.

It's not only online second-hand stores that are thriving though, as brick and mortar stores are also gaining popularity.

Run by volunteers, Zhong'ai Charity Store in Beijing's Chaoyang district sells donated goods to fund charitable work. Items range from clothing and books to crafts and toys.

Xianyu has recycle stores in cities like Hangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Nanjing, with various formats including community shops, campus stores, and specialty outlets.

Statistics show that the sales revenue of consumer goods under China's policy-backed trade-in program surpassed 1.3 trillion yuan in 2024, boosting retail growth by more than 1 percentage point.

As of March 14, 2025, China received about 1.3 million subsidy applications for trade-ins of passenger vehicles this year, and over 39 million consumers applied subsidies for trade-ins of more than 49 million digital products.

China will issue ultra-long special treasury bonds of 300 billion yuan to support consumer goods trade-in programs, according to a government work report delivered at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress in March 2025.

Smart spending, sustainable living

Sun, a media professional born in the 2000s, opts to order small food portions for launch on weekdays. "It achieves a balanced diet and avoids waste," she said. Over the past six months, Sun has saved money and cut food waste by choosing small food portions.

Many young consumers now live by the gram, finding meaning in mindful consumption.

Customers pick meals based on their preferences at a canteen in Licang district, Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. (Photo/Zhang Ying)

In recent years, relevant government departments have rolled out measures to encourage serving small portions.

In June 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce issued a guideline to encourage food delivery platforms to promote smaller portions. In November 2024, China announced an action plan to reduce food loss and waste.

With joint efforts from authorities and businesses, consumers are embracing thrift. Data from China's e-commerce platform Meituan showed that by October 2024, nearly 1.68 million restaurants had offered over 9 million small portions on the platform.

Beyond portion sizes, young people also consider shelf life and support discounted bundles of unsold or near-expiry food. Tagged as economical, fun, and eco-friendly, these commodities bring near-expired but perfectly edible food into daily life, adding a new dimension to green consumption.

Tech drives greener choices

For many young people, planting a tree online has become a lifestyle. Liu Shuangming, a young staff member at Shaanxi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, is a loyal user of Ant Forest, a green initiative launched by Ant Financial Services Group, an Alibaba affiliate.

A staff member (left) shows a consumer how to use a recycling robot at a shopping mall in Shapingba district, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo/Sun Kaifang)

In the app, low-carbon habits like walking or taking the subway earn users "green energy points." Once they've saved up enough, they can use the "green energy points" to plant trees in places such as Alxa League in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Liu planted his first tree via Ant Forest in 2017. By 2024, he had planted more than 2,500.

With over 700 million users, Ant Forest encourages daily low-carbon practices that add up to big environmental impact. According to Wang Xiaoying, secretary-general of Ant Forest Foundation, people aged between 18 and 25 make up a large portion of users.

Ant Forest planted 548 million trees on 5.8 million mu (3,866.67 square kilometers) of land from August 2016 to August 2024. It also helped establish 34 conservation areas across more than 4,900 square kilometers of land during the same period.

A report on land greening in China in 2024, released on March 12, 2025 by the National Greening Commission of China, showed that China established over 2,600 tree-planting bases in 2024 by continuously harnessing the power of the internet to engage the public in reforestation efforts. In 2024, China's online greening platforms published more than 61,000 activities.