September 24, 2025
BEIJING – Outdoor gear brand Arc’teryx and Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang are in hot water after they set off fireworks on a mountain in Tibet – the marketing stunt drew intense backlash over its potential long-term harm to the environment.
Not only is the incident a public relations nightmare for the popular Chinese-owned Canadian brand that has marketed itself as being environmentally conscious, but it also appears to have been a violation of environmental protection laws. Official apologies came swiftly after the video of the dragon-shaped fireworks – designed by the artist behind the pyrotechnics at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony – was posted online on Sept 19.
But questions have persisted over how approval was given for such an activity in an ecologically fragile environment more than 4,500m above sea level, even as the authorities have provided different explanations.
Tibet is a vast, sparsely inhabited autonomous region known for its significant natural resources, and is designated as a restricted development area under China’s national planning guidelines, which means ecological protection must be prioritised over economic activities.
The Arc’teryx fiasco could point to a lack of competency at lower levels of government in evaluating the potential environmental impact of such activities, said analysts. Approval was reportedly given at the county level, which is below the municipal level.
On Sept 20, an official from the Gyantse County branch of the Shigatse Municipal Ecological and Environment Bureau told local media the fireworks used biodegradable materials and the project thus did not require an environmental assessment, and that the approval of the township, village and county-level governments was sufficient.
Despite this explanation, the backlash grew. Arc’teryx, a status symbol in China, was accused online of hypocrisy – the website of its parent company Amer Sports states that it is committed to minimising environmental impact. Amer Sports was acquired by Chinese sportswear conglomerate Anta Sports in 2019.
On Sept 21, the Shigatse municipal party committee and government, which Gyantse County comes under, said it has established an investigation team to look into the incident, and that the matter will be handled in accordance with the law and its findings.
The next day, a Shigatse Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau official told local media that the fireworks display was not filed with or reported to municipal-level authorities before it was set off.
A report by state broadcaster CCTV on Sept 22 also said the 52-second display involving 1,050 pots of fireworks took place in an uninhabited area that was not in an ecological protection zone, although it is still protected under the law.
Assistant Professor Stefanie Kam, who studies Chinese politics at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, noted that a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecological conservation law was passed in 2023. It came into effect that same year.
In addition, a March 2025 government White Paper, titled Human Rights In Xizang In The New Era, said that the ecological conservation of this region is key to the “survival and development of the Chinese nation”. The document added that Xizang, the Chinese name for Tibet, has become one of the regions with the healthiest eco-environments in the world.
“Despite such laws, trickle-down effects take time to settle on the ground,” Prof Kam told The Straits Times. “Local authorities still operate on a cost-benefit calculus when they act, may lack the strategic foresight and are likely not well-versed in the technicalities of ecological laws.”
She added that the episode comes amid nascent but growing social awareness of environmental rights, and as tourism has allowed the Chinese to appreciate the importance of environmental conservation in the region.
Experts interviewed by Chinese media have said that the biodegradability of the fireworks materials depends on environmental factors – colder, high-altitude areas are less conducive to a material breaking down into natural substances, while the noise pollution generated by the fireworks could also have affected local wildlife.
Environmental lawyer Yang Yang told ST that the fireworks display violated the principle of “ecological protection as first priority” under the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law.
“I believe there are issues with the authorities’ approval. After all, the Himalayas are an ecologically fragile region, being a high-altitude area where vegetation grows extremely slowly,” said Ms Yang.
Ecological and environmental protection is a specialised field, and the local environmental bureau might not have the expertise to fully grasp the longer-term consequences of such an activity, she added.
“After combustion, residue from the fireworks may gradually settle onto the ground or into water bodies. If these contain harmful chemicals or heavy metal particles, they will gradually infiltrate the soil or water systems.”