Chinese footwear in allergy controversy
06/11/2008
Footwear imported from China has caused a consumer confidence crisis in France after several members of the public suffered irritation in their feet after wearing imported boots and ballet shoes.
The health authorities have traced the problem to anti-mould products in sachets added to packaging to protect the footwear during shipment. A spokesperson for the authorities told Agence France Presse that the sachets contained dimethylfumarate, and that this was a banned substance in the European Union.
In some cases the products were traced back to the Etam retail group, which said it had sold almost 900 pairs of the boots and shoes. It said it would try to trace the customers who had bought them and was withdrawing the rest of the consignment from sale.
More than half of imported shoes in France in the first eight months of this year came from China. The customs authorities puts the figures at 168 million out of 305 million pairs. In value terms, this corresponds to €677 million out of a total value of imported footwear for these eight months of €2.7 billion.
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