Canada Goose Fined $71K In China For Misleading Customers In Ads
Image via ID 165604295 © Zhi Qi | Dreamstime.com
Luxury outerwear brand Canada Goose reportedly came under fire in China on the grounds of misleading its customers with its claims and advertisements.
According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the Shanghai unit of the brand was fined 450,000 yuan (US$71,000) in June due to its claim of using “the warmest material from Hutterite” in its clothing.
The Hutterite community, spread across north-western North America, is associated with some of the world’s most luxurious goose down, which is what Canada Goose is saying its products contain.
However, Chinese regulators don’t feel that this claim is justified as most of the brand’s products are made using “other material” instead.
Bloomberg reports that the brand was also criticized by state media for its actions, including a commentary in the Economic Daily that accused Canada Goose of non-compliance with Chinese advertisement laws.
The article had purportedly stated that the company “probably hasn’t carefully studied China’s laws and ignores changes in the Chinese market.” Adding onto injury, it continued, “The moon isn’t rounder in foreign countries, and foreign down jackets aren’t warmer.”
Canada Goose isn’t the first or only brand to have been singled out for misleading advertisements in the country. A similar case was made against Hennes & Mauritz last month, with the brand being fined 260,000 yuan (US$40,240).
Although many fashion companies have seen exponential growth by tapping into the young Chinese market, political tensions have seen their performances waver; most notably, the incidents of retort against labor conditions in Xinjiang province.
[via Bloomberg, cover image via Zhi Qi | Dreamstime.com]
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