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SCMP Reporter

Nearly 60 per cent of clothing made by international brands is substandard, a survey has found, with problems ranging from mislabelled materials to poor dyes that can cause skin problems.

The results of the Zhejiang Consumer Rights Protection Association survey are  a warning to mainland consumers, who constitute the world's third-largest luxury goods market, that 'price does not stand for everything'.

Burberry, Aquascutum, Hugo Boss and Paul & Shark were among the brands whose suits, shirts, trousers, jackets or coats were of substandard quality, said an inspector with the Zhejiang Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Bian Yuyang , from the administration's consumer rights department, said the results were unexpected.

The association sampled 37 products made by 13 international apparel and accessory brands during an inspection of department stores across the province this month and found 22 products made by 10 different brands did not meet national standards.

The products, imported from 13 countries and regions, including Italy, Britain, Portugal, Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia, had a combined value of 620,000 yuan.

The artificial fibre Terylene  was found in T-shirts allegedly made of 'natural pure cotton'.  Some clothing materials were acidic, providing an ideal environment for the development of bacteria. Some  poor-quality dyes were used which could combine with sweat to cause skin problems,  the administration said. 'We were astonished to learn the results. These big brands do not deserve consumers' trust,' Mr Bian said.

Data from international accounting firm Ernst & Young show annual sales of luxury brands on the mainland reached US$2 billion in 2004, accounting for 12 per cent of  global sales and making  China  the world's third-largest consumer of luxury goods. It  forecast  China would replace the US as the second-largest, with annual sales of US$11.5 billion, by 2015. Japan is  the world's largest.

Ministry of Commerce researcher Mei Xinyu  said the problems were likely to have arisen because big companies had not established sound quality-supervision systems on the mainland, or were  dumping substandard products.



60pc of global brand-name clothing is defective, survey finds