Clothes for local children often found substandard
The quality standards of children's clothing made in Guangdong differ, depending on whether they were slated to be exported or sold domestically, local media reported.
The expose reveals the double standards at many factories: overseas-bound goods follow product-safety requirements of the European Union strictly, while clothes sold to Chinese children contain banned carcinogenic substances.
Industry insiders blame lax regulations and lean margins in the domestic market. 'You can find the world's best textiles in China, as well as counterfeit clothing that deliberately copies the pattern and texture of the better product but are made with totally different materials,' said Wang Xiaoming, a garment manufacturer in Foshan.
On average, only about 60 per cent of Guangdong-made children's wear met China's safety standards in random checks conducted in the past five years, the China Business Journal reported yesterday, citing the state product-quality watchdog.
Xie Qing, vice-secretary general of the China National Garment Association, said Guangdong manufactured more than 30 per cent of the country's children's wear.
Wang said domestic buyers paid only 60 per cent of what foreign companies offered, so producers made up the price difference by using lower-quality textiles, dyes and accessories, the China Business Journal reported.
Liu Liangyu , vice-chairman of the Child Welfare League of China, said more than 5 per cent of the diseases Chinese children suffered were caused by substandard products, especially garments containing toxic materials.
