The headquarters of Nice Group is located in the ecological city of Lishui. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

With the recent launch of its eco-friendly pet wash line Tao Dou Wan Guo – which has become  popular with young people – the Nice Group has taken a major step towards its goal of building a full-scale green production and supply chain, according to local media reports.

Based in the ecological city of Lishui – located in East China's Zhejiang province – the Nice Group is a domestic cleaning product manufacturer that has prioritized the development of eco-friendly products.

At the end of August last year, it launched plans for the development of a green industrial cluster which will integrate international and domestic resources and connect them to the local primary, secondary and tertiary industries.   

According to He Liming, the president of the group, Nice is planning a comprehensive development layout. It will cover the primary industry for raw materials planting, the secondary industry for daily chemicals and health products and the tertiary industry for tourism, leisure, health and beauty therapy.

The move has caught the attention of upstream and downstream partners including BASF, Dow Chemical, Novozymes and Givaudan. It has also sparked the interest of research institutes and universities – such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University and Jiangnan University. Some of them have signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with the Nice Group.

Taking its cue from Lishui's environment, the group's research and development team has conducted in-depth studies on the local plants and applied them to the company's products.

"Lishui is rich in plant resources, which have unique medicinal and edible values," said Hu Zhengyu, head of Nice's ecological development department.

"We are currently developing technologies for the extraction and improvement of active ingredients in these plants and some of these extracts have already been used in our products," Hu added.