Low-Quality Cotton in Office Chairs

If office chairs are filled with low-quality cotton, there may be issues of passing off inferior products as superior ones and false advertising. Currently, the market regulatory authorities have not yet issued a final conclusion, and merchants and consumers hold differing views.

Core Disputes of the Incident

• Nature of the Filling Material: Consumers discovered upon disassembly that the cushion filling consisted of multicolored, pieced-together shredded sponge, and even contained debris such as small stones, raising suspicions about the use of "black-hearted cotton." Black-hearted cotton typically refers to low-quality recycled cotton that may contain harmful substances, posing potential health risks. However, merchants claim that the filling material is "native拼棉" (native pieced-together cotton), a normal production process, and have presented a recycled sponge test report, asserting that the product meets national standards. The key differences between native拼棉 and black-hearted cotton lie in the source of raw materials and processing techniques: Native拼棉, if pieced together from qualified native cotton fragments and meets hygiene standards, can be considered compliant material; black-hearted cotton, on the other hand, may use waste fibers, offcuts, etc., and poses risks such as bacterial and formaldehyde over-limits.
• Truthfulness of Advertising: The product page is labeled as "native cotton," but the actual filling material does not match the description, raising suspicions of false advertising. The merchant admits that the page display may cause misunderstandings but does not directly admit to using black-hearted cotton, only offering to replace the cushion.

Impact of the Incident

• Consumer Trust Crisis: Tens of thousands of buyers are in a panic, with over 1,200 negative reviews flooding in, criticizing poor quality, inferior filling material, and after-sales evasion, reflecting severe doubts among consumers about product safety and merchant integrity.
• Response from Merchants and Platforms: Although the merchant has presented a test report, they have not provided detailed evidence such as the production process and raw material sources of the filling material, making it difficult to fully allay consumer concerns. The e-commerce platform has not removed the product or penalized the merchant, possibly awaiting the market regulatory authorities' investigation conclusions, but this has sparked controversy over "regulatory lag."

Future Focus

• Investigation Conclusions from Market Regulatory Authorities: It is necessary to clarify whether the filling material meets national standards, whether it is black-hearted cotton, and whether the merchant has engaged in false advertising.
• Consumer Rights Protection: If the investigation confirms merchant violations, consumers can request returns and compensation in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law; if the merchant is not at fault, the platform needs to optimize its product description review mechanism to avoid misleading consumers.