1 week Ago
Manufacturers in China are using TikTok to speak directly to American consumers , as part of a messaging campaign to urge users to source products directly from Chinese factories. According to The New York Times, the videos are made to highlight how expensive products sold by brands like Lululemon, Birkenstock and Hermes can be far cheaper when bought directly from manufacturers based in China. The accounts spreading the videos claim to be Chinese factory owners partnered with major brands, and assert that American consumers have been misled by luxury brands charging exorbitant prices for products made for a fraction in China.
The campaign also represents the latest front in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, where punitively high tariffs have threatened the flow of trade between the two countries, and pushed American manufacturers to reconsider their presence in China altogether.
And, as the Chinese government has allowed the videos to spread across TikTok — itself owned by Chinese company ByteDance — views have skyrocketed, as have downloads of popular Chinese shopping apps such as DHGate and Taobao. That said, experts have raised red flags over the veracity of the accounts and the products they're selling, noting that factories are contractually banned from selling directly to consumers, and have strict non-disclosure agreements in place with their partners. But many of the products are likely counterfeit, according to Forbes .
In a statement to The New York Times, a Hermes spokesperson said that all of the company's bags are made in France, while Birkenstock said that its footwear is produced in the European Union. Lululemon denied that it had worked with the manufacturers in any of the videos currently circulating, and that consumers should be cautious of counterfeit goods..
