SHANGHAI - Inspection and quarantine authorities in Shanghai plan to become increasingly vigilant as more than a half of the luxury goods brought to the city in the first months of the year failed to meet China's quality standards.

Starting this year, imported garments and jewelry have been made subject to entry-exit inspections and quarantines and must be examined by local quality inspection authorities after coming into the country.

According to the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, 56 batches of jewelry have been examined this year, of which about 59 percent failed to meet China's technical and quality standards.

"Excessive metal content, whether it be of lead, arsenic or nickel, was found in these products, which may cause allergic reactions and harm people's health," Wang Xiao, an official of the bureau, told China Daily on Tuesday.

Much of the imported clothing was also found to be in a shoddy condition. The bureau inspected 212 batches of imported garments, of which 88.6 percent failed to meet the standard set for Chinese labels. And 18 batches did not meet the standard for colorfastness, while the fiber content of four batches was not consistent with the batches' labels.

"Shanghai began selectively examining these high-priced garments and jewelries in 2006, and found that more than 20 percent of them were substandard," Wang said, noting that a large number of the rejected products carried the names of renowned luxury brands, which he declined to identify.

Wang said the rejected imports will be sent back or destroyed on the spot.

Wang added the bureau will encourage the makers of such products to become better at policing themselves and ensuring their wares meet China's technical and quality regulations. Statistics show that, of the total value of the clothing imported into China, more than half goes through Shanghai's ports. And more than 90 percent of foreign companies in the fashion and luxury industries set up their Chinese headquarters, as well as their distribution-management departments, in Shanghai.

China Daily

(China Daily 03/02/2011 page4)