Scare spurs Australian textile crackdown

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Peter Smith
FT Syndication Service
SYDNEY: Australia is set to crack down on Chinese clothing and textile products after excessive levels of the cancer-causing agent formaldehyde were discovered in imported blankets.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Department of Health last Thursday said they had begun testing a range of clothing for "significant residual formaldehyde" following heightened public concerns.
The move follows an outcry in New Zealand over allegations that children's clothes from China contained dangerous levels of the chemical. A recall is under way there of Chinese-made pyjamas after two children were burned when their flannelette nightclothes, labelled "low fire danger", caught fire.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia last Thursday ordered that all imported Chinese toothpastes must be tested before sale following the discovery that seven brands contained diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical, Reuters reported.
Two Australian importers recently recalled blankets made in China after levels of formaldehyde up to three times the acceptable limits were found. Australia does not set its own limits on the chemical but the ACCC will adopt European standards during testing.
Dr Ian Russell of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the country's leading scientific body, said there were further concerns about Chinese use of toxic dyes that contain carcinogens.
"We are wide open to whatever China wishes to supply us with," he said. "There are increasing concerns about a whole range of Chinese products."
An Australian importer of Chinese textile products, who asked not be named, said formaldehyde was used as a cheap glue to bond fabrics together.
"We are no longer dealing with certain Chinese factories," he said, adding that "independent" test results in China on formaldehyde levels were at odds with those carried out in Australia.
Fabrics that have been bonded with particular resins release large amounts of formaldehyde, the CSIRO said. "Formaldehyde has been classified as a cancer-causing agent and can also cause skin rashes, eye and respiratory irritation."
Graeme Samuel, ACCC chairman, said he had yet to see evidence that clothing in the Australian market contained unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde. "Over recent months there have been two recalls of blankets which had residual amounts of formaldehyde, which may cause short-term skin or respiratory irritation for some individuals," he said.
The ACCC was seeking advice on an appropriate maximum level for formaldehyde in clothing and textiles.
Charles Parsons, a textiles importer, this week announced a recall of its Chinese-made Superflux blanket in New Zealand. This followed an earlier recall in Australia.