First the tainted milk, now toxic chairs?

Recliners made by the Dongguan-based company Linkwise are causing cases of eczema, stinging allergic rashes and infections among French customers who bought them. The problems were traced to the use of the chemical, dimethyl fumarate, which is used to prevent mould and fungus on the chairs. The French distributor Conforama has since severed its business ties with Linkwise and told its suppliers to stop all use of the chemical. Out of the 38,000 Linkwise chairs it sold, it says customers have returned about 800 so far. A rash of cases has also cropped up in Britain, Sweden and Finland. One British attorney is now representing 1,300 customers and suing Linkwise for compensation. [Source]

Comments (9) [rss]

Quote from that source


"Normally, just one sachet of the anti-mould chemical is meant to be inserted into the chairs, but some contained as many as 10, said a Conforama spokesman, Stephanie Mathieu.

She said the Chinese firm told Conforama that 'as it was the monsoon season they decided that they needed to put more sachets in.'"

lol lol lol , so they were just being overly careful and caused this mess, but putting 10 sachets, wouldn't that cost them more than 1 sachet ?

While I am still very angry at the tainted milk.

But about this "toxic" chairs news carries a wrong message though. The Chinese firm Linkwise did not cut costs or cut corner, all they did is to put more sachet because they worry that it will go mouldy too soon due to rainy season, but they never anticipate that it would cause skin infection, and I think putting more sachets would even cost them more, right ?

Another quote from the source


"Conforama said it sold 38,000 of the Linkwise chairs and that customers have so far returned 800 of them"


800 out of 38 000 , about 2% ......

Poor Chinese manufacturers. Whatever you do are always wrong.

First they cut your price again and again to force a deal, which you don't make money at all.

Then,they lodge complaints of your wrong doing that caused them allergy and they sue you for compensation. Don't the importers check and test the products at the plant before shipment?

Blacklist the nasty importers. Let them eat cakes. Ponto.

Let's just build a big wall around China, like the walls around junkyards and landfills.

To nanheyangrouchuan

'Chinese, it's really dangerous...' said Ms Ennrich. 'We pay less but there are consequences.'

Forget whether the sachet have anything to do with chairs' quality and price, you idiot is just not smart enough to notice how much similar Ms Ennrich's cliche sounded as the boycott-China call by Reporters-Without-Fathers.

I've nothing against your idea to build a wall, to enclose "bad dirty China" as a getto. I guess all Chinese will feel grateful you guys finally leave them alone. I only feel it a pity that the wall would seperate not only you, but that pretty tapeworm in your rotten intestines from China, which you got in a Nanjing pigsty. I also wonder how many foreign migrant workers like you will try every means to climb over it, "with or without a visa". lol!


Larbord, I understand what you mean, but these problems exist mainly because China bases so much of its growth on being the workshop of the world. Economic success has been built for so long on cutting corners. Therefore what can you expect?

Snowisred, I agree that this is not necessarily a case of cutting corners, but it is a case of shoddy QC. In this, it is not very far from the milk problem in principle. You can make an unsound decision even when it costs you more money.

Disclaimer: Recalls for such things happen in every country. This case seems pretty mild, so I don't think it deserves outrage. But there is still something to the story. Myself, I would not put any potential irritants into products that are shipped to French people. They are constantly irritated enough as it is hahaha.

user-pic

So many cases of tainted Chinese products.

Remember 10 years ago the nearly 200 kids who died in Haiti, because of cough syrup made from tainted Chinese Glycerine?

- Scandal No.1: The Haitian pharmaceutical company had no quality control
- Scandal No.2: China denied all responsibility

The Chinese factory was only busted a couple of years ago, after some domestic poisoning cases involving a pharmaceutical factory in Heilongjiang.

The factory had stretched the Glycerine using cheap Diethylene Glycol, somewhat harmless to adults (the factory manager had tested it on himself before selling the mix), but deadly to children.

user-pic

Pirx, Diethylene glycol is far from being "somewhat harmless to adults". Though not as quickly toxic as its cousin ethylene glycol, it is still a very toxic compound that can result in kidney failure in adults and children.

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