China-made children's products unsafe: state media

[HopeHoops]

Source: AFP

BEIJING (AFP) – Nearly half of the clothing and a third of the furniture made for children in China's top manufacturing province is unsafe, with many products containing harmful chemicals, state media said.
....
It said just 53.5 percent of garments surveyed met safety standards, with many containing excess amounts of formaldehyde, a chemical that can cause skin or respiratory infections.
...
"The main reason for the excessive content of formaldehyde and heavy metals is the use of substandard raw materials and paints," Lin Ruixi, spokesman for the province's product safety administration, was quoted as saying.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528/hl_afp/healthchinasafetyclothingtoys_20090528071858;_ylt=AiwYL26n1WKZ_7nG2XoCZ0.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFkbHJxM2JmBHBvcwMxNTEEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9oZWFsdGgEc2xrA2NoaW5hLW1hZGVjaA--

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The content of the story isn't really a shock. What got me was that the news came from China's state media! That's different!

[daggahead]

1. Profit über alles! n/t

[HopeHoops]

2. Well said!

:hi:

[krispos42]

3. And in related news...

Lin Ruixi has died of heart failure in her home after falling on a kitchen knife 5 times.


Oh, and dihydrogen monoxide in fluid form is moist, the Bishop of Rome is a practicing member of the Roman Catholic Church, and ursine mammals defecate in sylvian environments...

[no_hypocrisy]

4. And why do our suppliers keep purchasing these products to sell in this country?

[liberal N proud]

5. They are just now realizing this?

The question is will they do anything about it?

[David__77]

6. China's government faces a huge task in enforcing safety standards.

And it's made worse by the fact that there are many corrupt officials, especially at lower levels. They even EXECUTE corrupt officials, but this doesn't seem to deter many.

It's good that they're publicizing this though. What might really get the wrongdoers is if they have to face the rage of the common people.

[HopeHoops]

7. Although they do tend to execute corrupt officials in a very public way.

I don't really approve of that, but it does make a point.

[David__77]

9. They actually hold execution rallies.

In some ways, I think this commendable as compared with the in-the-shadows way in which US prisoners are executed. It is more honest in a way. That said, I hope China and all countries abolish the death penalty. There is a growing segment of think tank types in China who want to do so, but, for now, they are overruled by the largest faction that wants to preserve all tools to preserve "social stability."

[krispos42]

10. All the good corrupt officials place the blame on the honest ones

Besides, it's an authoritarian fascist government. All we know is that they SAY the person they're executing is a corrupt official.



It could be a simple as the poor guy has a liver that somebody else wants.

[aquart]

13. But our companies moved there because there was no gov't interference.

And no pesky standards to comply with.

[greiner3]

8. I think they just wanted to downplay;

The real report which said "94.5%.%

[drgonzosghost]

11. I WOULD say boycott all Chinese crap until they fly striaght but...

what would there be left to buy? They pretty much make EVERYTHING we consume as Americans. I live here in Costa Rica, and there isn't anything here aside from produce or local crafts that the Chinese don't make. I guess they can get away with poisoning the world's children so the rich asshats can get a higher profit margin.

Any ideas on what can be done about this?

[HopeHoops]

12. Cutting down on impulse shopping is a good first step.

When stores like the Dollar Tree first came out, they were almost exclusively crap from China. It is easy to fill a cart with stuff just because it is cheap, but it still costs money collectively. Curiously, there are a LOT of items in Dollar Tree now that are made in the USA - specifically glass from The Indiana Glass Company and plastic-ware such as tubs, storage containers, utensils, cubes, etc.

The easiest thing to do is read "Made In China" and ask yourself if you really need it and if so how soon and what is the chance of finding it made somewhere else (preferably here). If it isn't essential, it goes back on the shelf. I have saved a LOT of money that way.