According to a report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun on January 12, down jackets are a big seller in China in cold weather. Coupled with unexpected challenges for the livestock industry, raw material prices are rising sharply. What happens in the Chinese market can have global implications.

According to the report, a large number of down jacket advertisements have appeared on China's fast-growing short video platforms in recent years, promoting the high quality and easy maintenance of down jackets in addition to their versatility.

Chinese brands such as Bosideng are popular among Internet celebrities, the report said. Bosidang's sales in the second and third quarters of 2021 reached RMB5.3 billion, up 16% year-on-year. It said this was mainly because sales of its higher-priced products were significantly higher than last year.

According to the report, the number one reason for the popularity of down jackets is the cold weather. The China Meteorological Administration said in December 2021 that the temperature this winter is likely to be lower than previous years due to the global La Nina phenomenon. There have already been four cold waves from September to November 2021.

However, climate is only a short-term factor in the popularity of down jackets. There are also long-term factors behind it. According to the analysis of China Economic Research Institute, the penetration rate of down products in China is less than 10% in 2018, which is lower than the 35% to 45% penetration rate of developed countries in Europe and the United States. Rural China, which had been accustomed to heavy fur coats and cotton-padded jackets for the winter, began to embrace light and warm down jackets as incomes rose.