Air purifier market grows in China, new quality standards in place

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Deteriorating air pollution in China has made air quality a focus of public concern, and in turn the growing awareness of the dangers of polluted air has triggered explosive sales growth in the air purifier market.

A polluted day in Beijing. /CFP Photo

The number of air purifier brands has increased rapidly over recent years, with an increase from 151 in 2013 to more than 600 by the year of 2016, according to research published by Qianzhan Industry Institute.

But there have been problems - misleading advertisements, poor quality and bubble prices have hit headlines. China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine found 15 out of 61 batches of air purifiers tested were substandard by the end of 2016.

And the Beijing branch of China Consumers' Association published the experimental results from 50 air purifiers bought online - 54 percent had quality problems.

China Environment Labelling Standard for air purifiers was formally implemented from January 1, 2017 to counter the number of substandard air purifiers in the market. The standard defines the maximum purification targets and noise requirements, and only those which meet the requirements will be given the China Environment Label.

Customers shop for air purifiers at an appliance store in Beijing, China. /CFP Photo

And with tighter regulations on quality standards, the market is expected to continute to grow.

CGTN reporter Martina Fuchs recently interviewed Maggie Chan, general manager of Blueair China, about the increasing awareness of the link between clean air and healthy living, and the local air purifier market in China.

Chan said that although the air purifier market is growing in China, it still has a lot of space to expand further. “Until now there is less than five percent penetration in the air purifier market,” she said. “So that means there is still a huge opportunity for the air purifying market in China.”‍