Chinese authorities are investigating Arc’teryx, outdoor clothing company, after it issued an apology for a fireworks show in the Himalayan region of Tibet that caused severe backlash due to possible harm to the delicate ecosystem.
Cai Guo-Qiang, a Chinese artist designed a dragon-shaped display of multi-coloured pyrotechnics that erupted across the foothills of the mountains in videos from the event on Friday.
However, the promotional campaign provoked a flurry of internet criticism, with many calling for a boycott of Arc’teryx’s clothing and claiming the stunt goes against the company’s image as being conservation-focussed.
The Canadian company apologised on Instagram for the display and said that the campaign was “out of line with Arc’teryx’s values.”
The company said that it had only used biodegradable materials and that it would collaborate with an external organisation to evaluate the project’s damages. Additionally, Arc’teryx stated that the purpose of the display was to increase public awareness of mountain culture.
Arc’teryx was founded in 1989 and has more than 150 stores worldwide. It is very popular for its high-end sportswear and mountaineering gear. Anta Sports, a fitness equipment firm listed in Hong Kong, is the owner of the brand.
The high-altitude daytime show called the Rising Dragon, was staged in collaboration with pyrotechnics artist Cai and was set at an elevation of nearly 5,000 meters in Tibet’s Shigatse area, which serves as a gateway to Himalayan peaks such as Everest.
In Tibet, where many people practice Buddhism, the mountains are considered sacred. Since it was annexed in the 1950s, it has been under strict control, thus some people online have questioned how and why the display was permitted in the first place.
The mountains were too fragile for pyrotechnics, according to critics, and the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem would have been affected by the fireworks, colour and smoke.
The display was deemed “not something that can be forgiven with a single apology post” a top commenter on Arc’teryx’s apology post said. The user also requested the company to accept responsibility for any long-term environmental damage.
Another user asked how so many individuals could have approved a project of this scale.
“The public’s criticism has alerted us that the evaluation of the expression of art needs to be more professional, and we need to be humble and more respectful of nature,” Arc’teryx said in its statement on Instagram.
The artist, Cai, who has also come under fire has apologised for his involvement and promised to cooperate with the authorities to aid in the area’s rehabilitation. He apologised on Chinese social media, admitting that “several areas that failed to be taken into account properly.”
“My studio and I attach great importance to this and humbly accept all criticisms of (our) artistic creation on the snowy plateau with a modest heart and sincerely thank you for your concern and reminders,” Cai wrote on Monday on Douyin, a platform similar to Tik Tok.
The 67-year-old artist was born in Quanzhou, a city in southern China, but has lived in New York since the middle of the 1990s. Cai gained popularity for his outdoor pyrotechnic performances and gunpowder paintings and famously managed the Beijing Olympics’ fireworks in 2008.