So many questions, so few answers. And at the end of the day… a blanket. 

You can find almost anything on AliExpress. A low quality iPhone case for $2? How about this deeply unsettling Mona Lisa costume? Or what about a blanket with a low quality print of the Palmerston North council building on it? 

The Spinoff was first alerted to the existence of this item, “Pond And Council Buildings Palmerston North Throw Blanket”, by a user on Twitter who questioned why they could buy a blanket with the Palmerston North council buildings printed on it. Good question.

The mayor of Palmerston North, Grant Smith, was similarly perplexed when approached for comment, before disclosing: “I’m gonna buy one”. 

There was no response from the seller when asked why this item existed, so I decided to carry out some investigative journalism of my own by buying the blanket, in spite of the many concerns around AliExpress as a retailer, ranging from data protection, to scams and questions about how items available on the platform are made.

According to AliExpress, just three blankets have been purchased at the time of writing, which presumably includes myself and, now, the mayor.

A week or so later, a very exciting package arrived to confirm that yes, it does. Whether it was worth the $37.46 plus shipping is another question. Here’s how the blanket performed when assessed against several key criteria: comfort, warmth, quality, versatility and coolness. 

Comfort

A blanket can still be a good blanket even if it doesn’t provide warmth. They can offer a sense of protectiveness or cosiness that transcends pure temperature. Someone I know will routinely drape a blanket over themselves no matter the weather. Why? Comfort. 

In this area, the Pond And Council Buildings Palmerston North Throw Blanket gets a tick of approval. I ordered the biggest size (200x150cm), which means it’s definitely more appropriate for a bed than the office. Nevertheless, myself and others were quickly drawn to its faux-fur texture. Hard to give this blanket anything less than top marks for comfort. 

Score: 5/5

Warmth

Given the blanket arrived at the peak of summer it’s been hard to properly judge its warmth. The blanket is described as being made from “microfleece”, which is not especially insulating but very lightweight. Used to combat The Spinoff’s aggressive air conditioning, it has done a solid job of keeping me warm at work. Would I trust it to keep me cosy, in bed, in the depths of winter? Probably not. 

Score: 3.5/5 

Quality

There are two aspects here that must be assessed. Firstly, the print. From afar, it looks quite good. But up close the Pond And Council Buildings Palmerston North Throw Blanket loses some points. It appears to have been a pretty grainy image to begin with and it’s not entirely clear why it was chosen for a blanket. I can’t find the original image, though it is also available – for a substantial premium – on another blanket you can buy from RedBubble, so it could also be a case of blanket plagiarism.

We must also assess the quality of the blanket from a textile perspective. Given it already had large strands of loose thread when it arrived at our office, it doesn’t score highly in terms of its construction. 

Score: 2.5/5

Versatility

On AliExpress, the blanket is described as being appropriate for: “Picnic, Travel, Home, Hotel, Airplane, Sofa.” Hard to argue with this.

Score: 5/5

Coolness

This criteria is of course entirely subjective. On the listing for the pricier but otherwise identical Redbubble blanket, the item’s print was described as showing “across the pond to the ugly council buildings in the square in Palmerston North”. Can ugly be cool? The enduring popularity of Crocs suggests yes.

Mayor Grant Smith praised the original photographer for including not just the council building, but also the neighbouring pond and garden. This makes it cool in his eyes, and means the print has nice tones of green to contrast the stark grey. “The council building normally gets profiled for other reasons,” admitted Smith. “Although it did win awards when it was first put up, it has been said that it’s not the prettiest building in the world. It’s interesting that somebody is putting it on a blanket.”

It’s worth remembering, however, that coolness is cyclical. Something that is cool now could easily be uncool in a couple of years. Will this apply to the Pond And Council Buildings Palmerston North Throw Blanket? Or does it have a timeless appeal? Hard to say. 

Score: 4/5

Overall score: 20/25

Verdict: The Pond And Council Buildings Palmerston North Throw Blanket is a thing that exists.