The weather is turning cold, and the down jacket market is entering a peak sales season. On major e-commerce platforms, the price of down jackets ranges from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan, but the quality of the filling inside varies and there are hidden traps. Many readers have reported encountering problems such as selling inferior down jackets online, false advertising, and difficulty in returning, exchanging, and claiming compensation. It doesn't feel fluffy to touch, it's not warm to wear, and it often drills and runs. ”Mr. Chen, a reader from Changning District, Shanghai, spent 206 yuan on a down jacket with "90% duck down filling" on an e-commerce platform last winter. However, when he cut it open, he found that it was filled with inferior single feather and velvet threads. Similar situations are not isolated. Ms. Dong, a reader from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, purchased a down jacket claiming to be filled with "90% white goose down" in a live streaming room on an e-commerce platform. She recalled, "The anchor deliberately displayed the filling material in front of the camera, which indeed looked full of fluff." However, after receiving the clothes, the hair was severely drilled, and during a cleaning process, the fabric broke. It was only then that she realized that the internal filling was not the advertised fluff, but a large amount of thin filamentous material. Replacing velvet with silk "is currently one of the most common methods of filling fraud in the down jacket market. So, what is the difference between "silk" and "velvet"? Luo Shengli, Technical Director of Guangfang Institute of Guangjian Group, introduced to reporters: "Down is the fluff that is close to the chest and abdomen skin of waterfowl such as geese and ducks. In an ideal state, it is in a three-dimensional flower shape, that is, fluff. Due to the low thermal conductivity of air, the opened fluff can fix more static air. Therefore, the higher the fluff content of down jackets, the stronger the fluffiness and warmth. Velvet and feather are single fibers that fall off from the fluff during the processing. As fillers, they have better thermal insulation effect than fluff and are easy to drill out of fabric gaps, which may bring respiratory health risks." In 2022, China implemented the new national standard "Down Clothing", no longer using "velvet containing" or "feather containing" fluff. Quantity "is the core indicator of down clothing, and down jackets are required to clearly label the" velvet content ", which must not be less than 50%. However, some businesses still exploit the information gap between new and old standards, using low-priced "silk" to impersonate high priced "velvet" and harm consumer rights. Consumers also buy "fake down jackets" that do not contain down. Mr. Yang, a reader from Haidian District, Beijing, reported on the "Leadership Message Board" of People's Daily Online that he spent 1315 yuan on an e-commerce platform to purchase a jacket labeled as "down jacket". But during the wearing process, Mr. Yang found that this garment not only did not keep warm but also had drilled hair. "What was drilled out was not down, but silk. When I checked the washing label, I found that the filling material was 100% polyamide fiber and did not contain down at all." Yao Xiaoman, Honorary Chairman of the China Down Industry Association and Vice Chairman of the International Down and Feather Bureau, introduced that the newly revised testing rules of the International Down and Feather Bureau in June 2025 stipulate that "down" only refers to velvet, and only products with a velvet content of 10% or more can use the term "down" in their packaging, advertising, labels, online page details and other product information. During the investigation, it was found that many businesses still confuse consumers by using vague names such as "down cotton" and "ecological down", leading them to mistakenly believe that their products are down products. On a certain e-commerce platform, a product detail page with the words "2025 New Women's Down Jacket" did not clearly indicate the filling material. The reporter consulted the customer service to see if the product was filled with down, and the other party stated that the product was a "down cotton jacket" with hollow cotton and silk cotton filling materials, not "down". In addition to "replacing velvet with silk", there are also merchants who "confuse fish with pearls" and impersonate goose down with relatively low-priced duck down. Ms. Luo, a reader from Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, reported to reporters that she purchased a goose down garment from a self operated store on an e-commerce platform, but upon arrival, she found that the filling material on the washing label was duck down. "I just spent five or six hundred yuan on goose down filling, and the customer service refused to say that it was the wrong product. But there was no duck down jacket of the same style in the store, and the trademark number of the clothes I received was the same as the goose down jacket displayed on the platform." Duck down and goose down are difficult to identify with the naked eye, and because feather belongs to the internal filler of the product, its quality is difficult to judge directly by the appearance, and consumers often can detect the problem after wearing it for a period of time. When it comes to safeguarding rights, there are multiple obstacles such as high testing costs, difficulty in providing evidence, and difficulty in claiming compensation. This dilemma is particularly prominent in e-commerce channels, where merchants go missing, platforms shift blame, and consumers often find themselves in a situation where complaints are fruitless. Mr. Chen told reporters that after he complained about the merchant through the platform, the platform closed the flagship store involved on the same day, but only processed a refund, failing to fulfill the promise of "one fake, ten compensation". He made multiple claims, but the platform only compensated him with a 100 yuan coupon. Ms. Dong's experience is even more typical. "When she contacted the platform's after-sales service, they replied that the store had been closed and could not be returned or compensated, so it could only be left unresolved." Ms. Luo requested a refund from the platform, but the merchant was only willing to compensate with a 50 yuan shopping voucher and said, "Otherwise, it will not be resolved," while the product continued to be sold in the store. In response to the dilemma of consumer rights protection, lawyer Wang Lan from Guangdong Huashang (Suzhou) Law Firm believes that the key to rights protection lies in the preservation of evidence and the choice of path. Consumers should keep evidence such as shopping orders, product detail page screenshots, customer service chat records, etc. Once they encounter infringement, they can first file a complaint through the e-commerce platform, demand that the platform fulfill the obligation of 'first compensation', and then recover from the merchant. In addition, if the merchant engages in fraudulent behavior, consumers can report to the market supervision department or consumer association and claim 'refund one compensation three' in accordance with the law. If the amount is small, a small claims procedure can be chosen, which has low cost, short cycle, and is suitable for individual consumer rights protection. When filing a complaint or lawsuit, it should be emphasized that 'the elements of false advertising and fraud by the merchant have been established,' "said Wang Lan. (New Society)