ey come into contact with water amid reports of hazardous towels in mainland China. Some seventy percent of towels sold in hypermarkets such as Carrefour come from mainland China and are often sold at substantially lower prices than Taiwan-made towels.
Reports said that the Taiwan-made towels cost an average of NT$160 per kilogram to produce, while mainland China towels sell for less than NT$100 per kilogram.
A Yunlin County towel trade association representative said that some 70 towel producers in central Taiwan have seen their production drop by 20 to 30 percent due to competition from low-priced towels from mainland China.
Taiwan imposed a tariff on towels imported from mainland China last September in an effort to protect local towel producers.
A study conducted by mainland China’s state-owned television station CCTV found that only 16 of the 80 towels picked out in markets in Zhejiang province met quality standards.
CCTV further found that the sub-standard towels had a common problem of fading in color when they came into contact with water, and that some of them contained cancer-causing substances.
CF urged consumers to test their purchased towels in water first before using them.
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