The Consumer Council has conducted its own investigation in the wake of recent reports of the presence of excessive formaldehyde in children's clothes. The reports were released in the Mainland and Taiwan.
In the test, the Council has drawn a random sample of 33 items of children's wear of both locally and Mainland manufactured, and imports from abroad, priced from $10 to $238.
Textile products treated with formaldehyde resins possess the quality of being wrinkle-resistant, anti-shrink or mildew-resistant. The hazard is the chemical may be released from these textile products if treated improperly.
Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a pungent odour. Inhalation of the chemical causes irritation to the mouth, nose and throat. Contact with the chemical may result in skin irritation and allergy.
More seriously, frequent or prolonged exposure to formaldehyde may lead to the development of contact dermatitis.
The Consumer Council test in Hong Kong drew a blank. The results showed the formaldehyde content of all the tested items to be in compliance with the requirements specified under GB 18401-2001 "Textiles - Limit to Formaldehyde Content" of the National Standard of China.
As obviously there are numerous children's clothes on the market, the results of the test cannot be taken as guarantee that Hong Kong is totally free of the problem.
Parents, however, can take a simple step to rid their children's clothes of formaldehyde residue by washing them before wear as the test showed that washing could effectively remove nearly 80 per cent of the chemical residue. So, for the safety of your children, wash before wear.
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