The consumer watchdog of the city of Beijing, on April 14, 2013, said that half of the mattresses sold in the city are sub-standard. About 50 products were tested at the National Centre for Quality Supervision and Inspection of Furniture and Indoor Environment, out of which 25 failed in certain fields like the use of fabric, colour fading, toxic substances and durability.
The samples were taken from manufacturers in Beijing and Taiwan, as well as Hebei, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Guangdong and Shandong provinces. There were 13 palm fibre mattresses checked, while the others were spring mattresses. Out of the tested products, seven faded very easily and three used very thin fabric, while eight had excessive formaldehyde content. On the other hand, 17 were beneath durability standards.
It was also found that in some of the fibre mattresses, straw was being used. Zhao Ping, the vice president of the Cancer Foundation of China said, “Inhaling formaldehyde could cause constriction in the chest and coughing, and other respiratory diseases. It could also lead to cancers and leukemia in children if the exposure to the formaldehyde is lengthy”. The manufacturers of the mattresses were informed about the substandard quality of the mattresses. The general manager of Beijing Hongdameidi, Qu Shengping, whose products had shown excessive formaldehyde in testing, confessed to the usage of cheap glue and fabric to make the mattresses.
