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Parents angered by 'unsafe' kids clothes in Guangdong

By Zhan Lisheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-28 12:03

GUANGZHOU: Most of the children's clothing made in Guangdong is unsafe, with some garments containing an excessive amount of chemicals.

Tests conducted by the provincial quality and technology supervision administration found just 53.5 of garments met safety standards.

Meanwhile, 67.7 percent of children's furniture and 95 percent of toys were considered safe.

The quality inspection of clothing, toys and furniture made by companies in the province comes ahead of International Children's Day on June 1.

The administration tested 60 children's garments made by 43 companies and found just 31 items met safety standards.

Lin Ruixi, administration press officer, said problems with the garments included false information about raw materials, poor color fastness and excessive content of the chemical formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is used in the production of furnishings and clothing and can cause skin or respiratory infection in some people.

Parents said they were concerned by the results of the tests and called on the government to make more regular quality inspections.

"It's unbelievable that half of my daughter's clothes are potentially unsafe," Lu Junhua, father of a six-year old girl in Guangzhou, said.

"I think the administration should do such sample test more often so that fewer consumers will fall prey to substandard products, especially those for children."

In addition, the administration tested 62 sample pieces of furniture and found just 42 were safe.

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Lin said three pieces of furniture contained too much formaldehyde, and two pieces had an excessive content of heavy metals including 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," he said.

Other pieces were considered substandard because of poor acid-resistance or mechanical performance.

Manufacturers of poor quality items would be told to fix the problem and test their products again, Lin said.

"But for those products with serious problems, we will urge the manufacturers to stop production and recall the products," Lin said.

"Items found with toxic content will be transferred to the inspection department for further investigation and dealt with according to the law."

Meanwhile, the inspection included a test of 80 toys made in the province, including 40 obtained directly from toy firms and 40 from the market.

Lin said the quality of children's toys had improved 14 percent on last year.

There were quality problems wit four toys, including three that were easily broken and one that contained combustibles and was a fire hazard.