“In China, online expression of anger over sanitary napkins has taken a very political turn”

“Is it thanks to these few centimeters that you think you will become rich? », was offended by one of the first contributors to the movement, in a video published on November 3. Like several other consumers, this woman was surprised by the short length of the sanitary napkins she had just purchased. On Xiaohongshu, (“little red book”), one of the most popular social networks in China, and which is characterized by its high proportion of female readership, she and a growing number of women were going to carry out the survey, measuring all the towels hygienic products of all brands. Conclusion: Most towels on the Chinese market are smaller than the size promised on the package. The citizen investigation was also expected to reveal that the thickness of the absorbent layers is lower than the criteria announced, and that the pH of many towels corresponds to acceptable levels for household linen, but certainly not for intimate hygiene. . Consumers’ anger was reinforced by the arrogance with which manufacturers initially responded to their requests. A communications manager for the ABC group, one of the market leaders, first explained to one of them that a margin of error is normal: “If it doesn’t suit you, don’t buy not. » They denounced a particularly pernicious “shrinkflation” (from the English verb shrink, which means “to shrink”) on a basic necessity product, and asked why they were not heard. The form of civic expression represented by the act of consumption in a country where public speech is restricted has been known for a long time. Foreign brands regularly bear the brunt of the nationalist fervor of Chinese customers, such as H&M and Nike, threatened in 2021 with boycotts for having committed to no longer using cotton from the Xinjiang region, where the Uighur minority is subject to a political of repression and mass internment. And health scandals are regular in the country, from that of milk contaminated with melamine in 2008 to that of edible oil transported in tankers carrying fuel oil on the way back, which appeared in July. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In China, the scandal of edible oil transported in chemical trucks revives fears Read later “We are too disunited” But the expression of anger online over sanitary napkins has taken a turn very political, in a country where the emergence of a feminist movement was seen as a threat by the authorities. For the first time in a quarter of a century, the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party appointed in October 2022 does not include any women among its 24 members. You have 37.82% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



Source link