85% of randomly purchased children’s flip-flops contain toxins that may cause early puberty, asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and more, a finding that has shocked public opinion in China.
Recently, the The Paper (Shanghai, China) stirred public concern when it published an investigative report titled “Dangerous Plastic Flip-Flops for Children“. Reporters randomly sampled and tested 62 pairs of children’s soft plastic flip-flops, discovering that 53 of them failed to meet safety standards; the main issue was that the levels of phthalate esters exceeded allowable limits, with the highest exceeding the standard by 805 times.
According to the report, the investigative team purchased 50 pairs of PVC flip-flops for infants and young children with the highest sales across five major e-commerce platforms, while also acquiring 12 additional pairs from stores in Sijiqing, Hangzhou, and Jiaxing. Testing revealed that out of the 62 pairs, 53 exceeded the safety standards for phthalate ester levels, resulting in an alarming failure rate of 85%.
Beautifully designed plastic flip-flops for children pose many health risks.
Among the 50 pairs purchased from top, legitimate e-commerce platforms in China, 41 pairs exceeded the safety standards for phthalates, with an average exceeding level of 539 times and a maximum exceeding level of 805 times.
Phthalate esters are inexpensive plasticizers that are widely used. Scientific studies have shown that phthalate esters may increase the risk of early puberty, asthma, allergies, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, and are associated with an increased risk of autism.
The report from The Paper indicated that 22 pairs of children’s flip-flops purchased from e-commerce platforms lacked brand labels, product names, manufacturer addresses, and certification documents… They are untraceable products and all exceeded the allowed phthalate levels.
Reporters also visited the factories producing these non-compliant products for investigation. The factories acknowledged the issue of exceeding phthalate standards but claimed it was unavoidable since high costs would hinder sales, and changing production equipment is complicated and expensive.
One factory representative even stated, “If widespread testing were conducted, any plastic (PVC) children’s flip-flop would fail, as many workshops create their own labels and certification to meet standards.“
Representatives from several factories added that most e-commerce platforms conduct random sampling for product testing. However, manufacturers and sellers often circumvent regulations by opening multiple stores to avoid being sampled. In fact, they have factored potential fines into their production and business costs.
The report indicated that only a few hazardous flip-flops are produced in Yichang City, Guangdong Province, Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, and Chongqing. The majority of non-compliant flip-flops with labels are manufactured in Wuxuan City, Guangdong Province. In 2019, Wuxuan was designated as the “Plastic Footwear Capital of China.”
Currently, Wuxuan’s plastic footwear production accounts for one-third of the total in China, with an annual production value of 8 billion yuan (approximately 28 trillion VND).
Following the publication of the investigative report, the head of the Wuxuan Market Supervision Bureau announced that they would hold a meeting to investigate and address the related factories.
