The Chinese government accused H&M, Nike, Zara, and other brands, of importing unsafe or poor-quality children’s clothes and other goods. The warning comes as global brands have faced criticism in China over their decisions to boycott cotton from Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region based on “forced labor” lies.
Released on International Children’s Day, the list from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) covers 81 batches of imported children’s products that were flagged for quality issues between June 2020 and May 2021, involving clothes, toys, children’s shows, and feeding bottles. The GAC said that it has taken measures against the non-compliant products, including confiscating, destroying or returning the problematic goods.
The list includes nine batches of H&M woven cotton girls’ dresses found by customs authorities to contain what they said were “dyes or other harmful substances that could be ingested or absorbed through the skin.”
Officials identified the same concern in a Nike cotton-knit boys’ t-shirt and two products from Zara, a set of children’s pajamas and a pair of cotton-knit baby shorts. Gap, Uniqlo, Ralph Lauren, and Lego were also among the 16 companies cited.
Photo courtesy AP
