Two secondary schools in Hong Kong were shocked to find out on Monday (16 July) that their uniforms contained cancer-causing chemicals banned in Japan and Europe.
At least two of about 40 suppliers in the city had sold the toxic outfits to the schools, said the city’s Consumer Council.
Zenith and Sing Shun Fat have both stopped selling the uniforms and said that the toxic material came from mainland China.
Zenith apologised a day after news broke, saying they were also ‘victims’ of the scandal as they were unaware of the problem.
One of the two affected schools, Fung Kai No 1 Secondary School, immediately sent out a statement that Zenith was not its official supplier and told parents who bought uniforms from them to be aware of potential health risks.
Fung Kai said parents have not made any reports about buying the tainted uniforms from Zenith.
The other school, Lingnan Secondary posted a similar notice on its website, saying that Sing Shun Fat is not their official uniform supplier.
“Parents who have bought uniforms from this company should immediately stop their children from wearing them and use only the school’s official supplier,” the school said.
Consumer Council had found that the uniforms used banned dyes that contained a cancer-causing chemical. The amount found was more than eight times the permitted level in China.
Zenith had also used the toxic material for waist belts part of girls’ uniforms – the belt contained twice the permitted level of chemicals.
“I have to apologise to the parents, schools and school uniform suppliers for making them worried,” said Zenith Uniform’s manager.
She had bought the cloth about 12 years ago from a registered company and stressed that she was not aware about its toxic status.
Consumer Council made the discovery after checking 49 samples of school uniforms with designs most commonly used in the city.
The council chairman, Wong Yuk-shan said a harmful chemical could be released and absorbed by the skin when the dyes mixed with students’ body heat and sweat.
The council also found eight uniforms that contained traces of formaldehyde, a cancer-causing industrial chemical. However the amounts were lower than the maximum allowed under China’s regulations, reported the South China Morning Post.
Wong attributed the scandal to a lack of regulations in Hong Kong and renewed her call for textile control. She added the government should emulate existing laws in other countries and set up local legislation accordingly.
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