Factory owners lead moves to clean waterways
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E-mail China Daily, February 21, 2014
A group of swimmers, braving chilly conditions, jumped into the Donghe River in Rui'an, Zhejiang Province, on Monday.
Their reason for making a splash? Not to show their athleticism but rather to make an environmental point.
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More than 50 bosses from factories that produce rubber shoes take a dip in a river in Rui'an, Zhejiang Province, on Monday to raise awareness of the environment and highlight their efforts to reduce pollution generated by their manufacturing operations. [Photo/China Daily] |
The 50 or so swimmers own and run rubber-shoe factories in Xianjiang township that have been blamed in the past for polluting the environment.
Yang Yuguang, chairman of Zhejiang Anbang Shoes, said the quality of the river is better than he had imagined.
"The water is clear and is much better than before," he said. "We swam for more than 600 meters, and it felt good."
The 42-year-old said he thought it had been more than 20 years since people swam in the river.
"Everyone blamed our factories for causing the pollution. I cannot deny that in the past decade we harmed the environment. However, I also would like people to witness the changes we have made," he said.
Rui'an has the biggest cluster of rubber-shoe-making factories in the country with more than 1,000 factories accounting for almost 60 percent of the domestic market share.
Ye Mingzhe, general manager of Rui'an Fuyimei Shoe Industry Co, said there was a time when nobody cared about environmental protection.
"Five years ago, the river was a total mess, with blackish water. It was smelly, with all types of rubbish floating on it," Ye said.
The problem was not taken seriously until an entrepreneur posted a notice in social media.
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