Clothes made in China are safe - NZ official

BEIJING, Oct. 17 - The General
Manager of the New Zealand Ministry of Consumer Affairs Liz MacPherson has
informed China's commerce counselor Liu Linlin that clothes made in China are
safe after testing them for formaldehyde, China's quality control administration
said on Tuesday.

MacPherson said the ministry collected 100 samples of clothing and asked
independent labs to carry out the tests. Of all the samples, 84 percent were
manufactured in China, seven percent in New Zealand and nine percent in other
countries. The proportions were decided on the basis of the market share of the
clothes in New Zealand, she said.

Excluding one overlapping sample, 97 samples met the international
standard by having a formaldehyde concentration of far less than 200 ppm. The
formaldehyde concentration in 2 samples, one from China, reached 250 ppm but was
reduced to 54 ppm by washing, so these two kinds of clothes should be labeled
with warnings like "pre-wash before use", according to the test results.

MacPherson said the results proved that clothes made in China are safe
and New Zealand would publicize the results to clarify the facts.

She also said children's pajama exports from China were safe and reminded
parents in New Zealand to read the labels carefully before buying and using
them.

In August, New Zealand launched an investigation into children's pajamas
made in China after two complaints involving children who suffered burns while
wearing the pajamas. The test results from an independent laboratory released by
New Zealand's Commerce Commission proved that the pajamas produced in China were
up to safety standards.