Officials from Shanghai have found through a recent inspection that a huge number of children's furnitures sold either online or in stores are unsafe for use.

The Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau has found that 17 batches out of the inspected 34 batches of children's furniture are substandard, reports Shanghai Daily. These furnitures came from four online vendors and 18 stores.

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The Bureau also found that online vendors were the ones who sold the most substandard items, with nearly 80 percent of their items of substandard make.

Aside from being of substandard make, some of the said furnitures have some features that could possibly hurt buyers or furniture users, such as sharp edges. Other items also had insufficient safety warnings such as stickers, or information and instruction manuals.

Although the bureau did not give the names of the substandard and unsafe furniture brands, they had the respective furnitures taken out, not to be sold in the market.

Dishonest Gain

The Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission on the other hand said that some trade happening in a furniture expo was suspended due to dishonesty.

The solid wood furnitures section at the China Huaxia Housing and Furnishing Exposition, held in the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center, had its sales suspended after it was found that some participating merchants lied in regards to the materials used for their merchandise.

The issue is currently under investigation.

Unacceptable Amounts

According to the General Technical Requirements, children's furnitures should be made following a standard that limits the amount of dangerous substances that might harm a child's health. In line with this, the Bureau also reported that they found furnitures that had an unacceptable amount of harmful chemicals.

The Bureau said that a certain consignment of wooden chairs sold at Nanfangzhongyi Furniture Store, located in Fengxian District, had four times the safe and acceptable level of formaldehyde.

The Bureau had the items taken out, and its manufacturers were ordered to take corrective measures.

TagsShanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau, Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission, China Huaxia Housing and Furnishing Exposition, Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center, Nanfangzhongyi Furniture Store, chair, children