China – Quality Performance of Imported Clothing in the First Half of 2014
Vol. 791 | October 09, 2014
In August, General Administration of Quality supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ) announced Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (CIQ) inspection results on apparels for the first half of 2014.
In first six months, China imported $2.76 billion worth of clothing and 12,305 batches were found non-compliant when inspected by CIQ at Customs. The total value of non-compliant products was $47.7 million. Among non-compliances, 396 batches were identified violating safety and quality requirements.
The following summarizes non-compliances based on failed item, product category, brand and origin of non-compliant products.
- Primary failure – Label
Apparel imported to China must comply with the mandatory labeling standard GB 5296.4 “Instructions for use of products of consumer interest--Instructions for use of textiles and apparel.” However, CIQ inspection indicated that the failure rate of label was as high as 97%.
- Children’s garments
The children’s garments category was one product category with a high failure rate: 1,442 batches of unqualified children’s clothing accounted for 11.72% of non-compliant products. The statistical analysis indicated that pH value was one of frequently failed items. Too high or too low pH value may results in skin-irritation causing skin diseases.
- Fast-fashion brands
Fast-fashion brand products also had a high non-compliance rate: among the top five brands that have the highest failure rate, four were fast-fashion brands. A total of 107 non-compliant batches were from fast-fashion brands, which accounted for 27.02% of non-compliant products.
- Origin of non-compliant products
The origin of non-compliant garment is relatively concentrated. Apparel imported from Italy was reported to have the highest failure rate, followed by those from Vietnam, Korea, Bangladesh and other neighboring developing countries.
Contacts:
Shanghai: Ms.Dora Tang
Tel: +86 21 6091 7076
dora.tang@intertek.com
Guangzhou: Ms.Liu Hui Li
Tel: +86 20 2820 9274
huili.liu@intertek.com
Tianjin: Mr.Howard Xing
Tel: +86 22 8371 2820
howard.xing@intertek.com
US: Ms.Megan Liu
Tel:+1 847 871 1034
megan.liu@intertek.com