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Guangdong-made kids' clothes unsafe
BEIJING
AN OFFICIAL investigation has found that about half of the clothing and a third of the furniture made for children in China's top manufacturing province are unsafe, with many products containing harmful chemicals.
However, Chinese-made toys were overwhelmingly deemed to be safe, despite recent scandals involving them.
The probe was launched ahead of International Children's Day (June 1) by the provincial quality-and-technology supervision administration in southern Guangdong, centre of China's manufactured export industry.
It found that just 53.5 per cent of 60 children's garments tested, made by 43 companies, met safety standards.
Many contained excess amounts of formaldehyde, a chemical that can cause skin or respiratory infections, or had poor colour fastness. Some manufacturers had provided false information about raw materials.
As for children's furniture, 67.7 per cent of the 62 items tested were deemed safe, with some of the questionable products containing too much formaldehyde or health-endangering heavy metals like lead, cadmium and chromium.
"The main reason for the excessive content of formaldehyde and heavy metals is the use of substandard raw materials and paints," Mr Lin Ruixi, spokesman for the province's product safety administration, said.
Manufacturers of poor-quality items exposed by the probe would be told to fix the problems and test the products again. But makers of products with serious flaws would be urged to cease production and recall the products.
The reputation of China's poorly-regulated and corruption-plagued manufacturing industry has been deeply tarnished in recent years by safety scandals involving dangerous foods, toys and other products.
The investigation did produce one ray of good news: It concluded that 95 per cent of the toys made in Guangdong were safe.
Millions of toys made in China - the world's largest producer of toys - have been recalled globally in recent years amid fears they were made with toxic lead paints or had design flaws.
- AFP, China Daily/Asia News Network