Reports question quality of children's clothing

Quality watchdogs across the country have released a series of reports on problems with children's clothing, including products from some big brand names.

Children's wear from famous fashion brands such as ZARA and Disney failed to meet national standards during a survey of major manufacturers in Shanghai conducted by the Shanghai Quality and Technology Supervision Bureau.

According to the report released on Monday, ZARA's children's shirts were of poor quality in fiber content. The pH value of Disney's long-sleeve shirts could not meet the standard. Another 15 batches of children's clothing among 93 tested failed the standard.

Shen Weimin, deputy director of the bureau, said substandard pH value in clothes could harm human skin and may lead to infections.

"All children's wear involved in the report have been pulled from the shelves," said an employee surnamed Yin in the public relations department of ZARA's Shanghai office.

However, the clothes won't affect children's health, Yin said, adding that they have contacted ZARA's headquarters in Spain.

Disney also confirmed the quality of its clothing.

"To our understanding, the alleged quality inspection happened in March this year. After that, the manufacturer took immediate remedial action to address the situation. The unqualified products have never been put on a shelf," a spokesperson from Disney said.

About one-third of children's clothing sold in Beijing was found to have problems in fiber content, pH value and other indicators, said a report released by the Beijing Consumer Association on Sunday.

The association bought 63 kinds of clothing from upmarket department stores, such as Joy City in Xidan and Wal-Mart supermarkets, and online shopping sites like vancl.com.

Three kinds of the clothes had excessive formaldehyde content and aromatic amine dyes, which are harmful to children's skin and have the potential to cause cancer, the report said.

Problematic clothes in Bairong World Trade Center in Beijing have been taken off the shelf, and shops have received a warning and fines, a staff worker from the center said on Wednesday.

In Guangzhou, Guangdong province, 37 of the 100 children and baby clothing samples, including T-shirts, knitwear and dresses, failed the test commissioned by the city's industry and commerce authority.

The stores selling the substandard clothes were fined, and the clothes in question were ordered withdrawn.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's top quality watchdog, released a national result on children's clothing on Tuesday, saying 26 out of the 200 kinds of clothes examined from nine provinces were substandard.

Hou Xiaoju, from Beijing Children's Hospital, said the hospital has received a few cases of children getting sick due to wearing substandard clothes. In most cases, they also have other pathogenic factors that are more serious than the harm from the clothes.

Contact the writers at zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn and lixinzhu@chinadaily.com.cn