Nandu News Reporter Yang Liyun Intern Kong Wendong

Children’s Day is approaching, and schools are gradually resuming in various places. A pair of shoes that fit well, are safe and comfortable, and are especially important for the healthy development of children.

On May 26, the Shenzhen Consumer Council released a comparative test report on 25 children’s shoes. The results showed that the test results of the PBA content of three children’s shoes, including Bobdog Babu Bean Children’s Shoes, Dr. Kong Jiang Children’s Sneakers, and Dr. Kong Jiang Children’s Sandals, did not meet the requirements of the most stringent certification standards in Germany. In addition, Dr. Kong Jiang children’s sandals, folding resistance is also average.

It is reported that cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are referred to as PAHs in English, which are a class of strong carcinogens. Children are in the stage of growth and development, metabolism is fast, if products containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are in direct contact with consumers’ skin for a long time or repeatedly, they may be easily absorbed by the skin and cause damage.

Are children’s shoes safe?

sample

: A total of 25 samples, including 15 children’s sports casual shoes (involving brands such as Nike, Phila, Anta, Belle, Huili, Xiaoxun, Decathlon, Dr. Jiang, Goodbaby, Babu Bean, Mucha, Taobei Rat, Balabala, NetEase Yanxuan, ABCKIDS), 10 children’s sandals (involving brands such as Xiaoxun, Bumblebee, Snafi, Snoopy, Babudou, Skechers, Dr. Jiang, Crocs, Adidas, B.Duck).

project

: Chemical safety, physical and mechanical safety, performance and label identification and other 4 aspects.

standard

: National mandatory standards GB 30585-2014 “Safety Technical Specifications for Children’s Shoes”, QB/T 4331-2012 “Children’s Travel Shoes”, QB/T 4546-2013 “Children’s Leather Sandals” and foreign standards and regulations.

Dr. Jiang, Babu Bean and other three children’s shoes

The detection value of the strong carcinogen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exceeded the limit

This trial tested the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in different parts of children’s shoes. The results showed that the test results of 22 children’s shoe samples of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons met the requirements of the most stringent certification standard in Germany (GS standard AfPS GS 2014:01PAK).

In addition, there were three samples of children’s shoes that did not meet the requirements of this standard. They are Bobdog Babu Bean Shoes, Dr. Kong Jiang Children’s Sneakers, and Dr. Kong Jiang Children’s Sandals.

Results of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in samples of three children’s shoes

5 children’s shoes such as Nike and Taobei Mouse

The wear resistance performance is average

Whether children’s shoes are durable and comfortable is an examination of their performance. In this comparative test, the performance of 15 children’s sports casual shoes and 10 children’s sandals (peel strength of bottom wall and upper surface, wear resistance, color fastness to friction of lining and inner pad, hardness of outsole, bonding strength of outsole and outer midsole, flexural resistance, peeling strength/pull-out strength, anti-slip performance) of 15 children’s sports casual shoes and 10 children’s sandals was tested with reference to QB/T 4331-2012 “Children’s Travel Shoes” and QB/T 4546-2013 “Children’s Leather Sandals”.

The results showed that 3 children’s sports casual shoes and 2 children’s sandals had average wear resistance. They are: NIKE children’s sneakers, Taobei rat children’s sneakers, Xiaoxun lightweight children’s sneakers, Skechers boys’ sandals, and Crocs Crocs children’s casual sandals.

Abrasion resistance test results of three samples of children’s sports shoes

Abrasion resistance test results of two children’s sandals samples

It is reported that abrasion resistance is an important indicator to measure the quality of a pair of shoes, and poor wear resistance will cause shoes to deform in the short term due to excessive wear, affecting the comfort of wearing; It is also easy to affect the anti-slip performance of the sole, resulting in injuries such as falls and slips.

Adidas, Snoopy, etc

The hardness value of 3 children’s shoes exceeded the standard

If the sole material is too soft and easy to deform, it may affect the development of children’s bones, and if the sole material is too hard, it will affect the wearing comfort.

The test results of children’s sports casual shoes showed that Bobdog Babu Bean children’s shoes and Belle Belle children’s travel shoes had soft soles.

In terms of children’s sandals, this comparative test evaluates the softness and hardness of sandal soles according to QB/T 4546-2013 “Children’s Leather Sandals”. The results showed that the hardness test of three children’s shoes, including adidas children’s sandals, Snoopy Baotou sports sandals and Xiaoxun children’s anti-kick sandals, was higher than 65, and the hardness values exceeded the range required by the standard.

Results of hardness test of outsole of three children’s shoe samples

Balabala, Dr. Jiang and other 3 children’s shoes

The folding resistance does not meet the requirements of the standard

Flexural performance examines whether the sole and upper surface are easy to open the rubber and break or crack the surface, which is directly reflected in the inflection resistance of the shoe. This comparative test is based on QB/T 4331-2012 “Children’s Travel Shoes” and QB/T 4546-2013 “Children’s Leather Sandals”.

Cracking occurs in the fold test sample

The results showed that three samples, including Balabala children’s jogging shoes, Xiaoxun light children’s sneakers, and Dr. Kong Jiang children’s sandals, did not meet the requirements of the standard.

The Color Fastness of Snafi children’s shoes is not up to standard

The color fastness to rubbing of the lining and inner pad of children’s shoes does not meet the standard requirements, which may lead to dye decolorization, cause harm to human health, and have potential health and safety hazards.

According to QB/T 4546-2013 “Children’s Leather Sandals”, this comparative test tested the color fastness of the lining and inner pad parts in direct contact with feet or socks under the condition of 50 rubbing with artificial sweat.

The results showed that the inner pad of Snafi children’s shoes was grade 2-3 and the logo fell off after the test (the standard requires that the color fastness should not be less than level 3), which did not meet the standard requirements.

After the color fastness test of the lining and inner pad to rubbing, the color of the sample pattern fell off and the color was severely stained

Nike, Adidas and other 7 children’s shoes

The label identification is not clear and complete

A complete and accurate label can fully inform consumers of the safety level and performance characteristics of the product, which is conducive to guiding consumers to rationally choose the products they need. The label identification of children’s shoes refers to the basic information marked on the shoes and the inner packaging (including hang tags).

Among the 25 samples of children’s shoes sampled this time, a total of 7 children’s shoes were not clearly and completely labeled, accounting for 28%.

Specifically, it includes: Taobei rat casual children’s sneakers, NIKE children’s sneakers, Xiaoxun lightweight children’s sneakers, Bobdog babu bean children’s shoes, adidas children’s sandals, Xiaoxun anti-kicking sandals, Snoopy Baotou sneakers.

Children’s shoes purchase sample and disassembled sample inspection picture

The main problems of this label identification test are: the shoe number is not marked with the foot length indication value or foot width indication value; The name and contact information of the company are not indicated; The three-guarantee provisions do not indicate the warranty clause; The production date is not marked with the year, month and day according to the standard requirements.

Corporate response

Nike: Confirmed by technology within three months

Product quality problems or defects can be returned or exchanged

Nike told the Shenzhen Consumer Council that the after-sales service clause they provide to consumers is: within three months after the sale, any situation confirmed by technology as a product quality problem or defect will provide consumers with a return or exchange service, which is significantly better than the current common three-guarantee regulations for footwear in various provinces and cities. “Considering the completeness of the three-guarantee regulations, we revised the three-guarantee regulations at the beginning of the year, making it clear that we also provide return or exchange services for problems that are usually covered by the warranty.”

For the test results of the general wear resistance performance of the outsole, the Nike brand replied that the company’s test report showed that it was qualified, because the outsole of this product is foamed material, and the current testing and sampling requirements for wear resistance testing are “the surface of the sample is flat, and the area is sufficient for wear”. The surface of the outsole of the shoe will have some patterns, not completely flat, so the test of wear resistance often needs to polish the surface first, and the foam material test results will have a considerable impact, the results measured after polishing do not fully reflect the wear resistance under actual wearing conditions. “There are certain differences in the test data between different laboratories due to different grinding methods and grinding degrees.”

Adidas: Use return and exchange to replace warranty

Adidas brand replied: (1) Our company did not reflect the content of the warranty in words on the certificate of conformity, because in order to provide consumers with a good experience, we directly replaced the repair by returning and/or replacing the goods in actual operation. (2) The comparative test is based on QB/T 4546-2013 “Children’s Leather Sandals”, which is not a mandatory standard, and in the case that our company has not declared the application of this standard on the product, our company believes that it is not appropriate to apply this standard to test our products.

Balabala: Exists

Problems such as inadequate glue management

Balabala brand replied: The folding resistance of this comparative test did not meet the relevant standards, and our senior leaders attached great importance to it, jointly found out the cause, and implemented rectification.

The cause of the problem is that the glue management is not in place, the temperature control of the production process is insufficient, and the temperature drop is too long to apply the bottom, resulting in false adhesion.

Corrective measures: (1) Strictly require operation in accordance with SOP standards; (2) Strengthen the adjustment of glue ratio and time management; (3) The bottom sticker is required to operate according to the glue line drawing line, and the circumferential circle is crushed to death after pasting, and the operation time is controlled; (4) Strengthen temperature test management, test once in 2 hours; (5) This batch of shoes is re-sent to the third-party institution for testing, and the test is qualified to continue to be sold, if the test is unqualified, it will be removed from the shelf. In the future, our company will strengthen management, continuously optimize the quality control process, and improve product quality.

Skechers: Industry standards are recommended and not mandatory

Skechers brand replied: Shenzhen Consumer Council comparative test selected the industry standard QB/T 4546-2013 as the testing basis, of which the wear resistance test standard is GB/T 3903.2-2008, which is inconsistent with the test method in our enterprise standard.

According to the Standardization Law of the People’s Republic of China, industry standards are recommended standards and are not mandatory, enterprises can formulate enterprise standards on their own as needed, and the state supports the use of independent innovation technologies to formulate enterprise standards in important industries, strategic emerging industries, key common technologies and other fields.

Therefore, the brand side believes that it is not very reasonable for Shenzhen Consumer Association to choose industry standards to test the wear resistance of our company’s products that implement enterprise standards, and is worried about the impact of the comparative test results announced to the public.

Seeking out: Temperature will cause errors on the hardness of the sole

Xiaoxun brand replied: Our company’s production goods are produced in accordance with national standards, this large-scale shoes are sampled and sent to BV company for physical testing and chemical testing after production, and the test is shipped only after passing the test. (1) The national standard test is wear-resistant to the contact part of the sole, this sole is EVA combined wear-resistant bottom, the test wear-resistant should test the contact part, and the contact part should be pink outsole. (2) Shenzhen consumer association sampling test for March 16 to April 16, this period of time the temperature is low, beach sandal soles are rubber, sensitive to temperature, winter and summer will produce different values, this sandal is normally worn in summer, the temperature will be wrong for the hardness of the sole.

Dr. Jiang: Production solutions and raw material control will be optimized

Dr. Jiang’s brand replied: Our company attaches great importance to it, immediately sends the product for inspection, and carries out a comprehensive self-inspection. The products sold by our company meet the requirements of national standards and are compliant products.

This time we received a reminder from the Shenzhen Consumer Association, in line with a responsible attitude towards consumers, we decided to optimize the production plan and control of raw materials: Since May 2020, our company has raised the entry threshold of raw materials, and clearly requires that the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in raw materials should not exceed 0.05.

Strengthen inspection standards: At present, our company and three laboratories to cooperate, namely CTI testing, Yingbai testing, Rheinland testing, our company has communicated with these three laboratories respectively, refer to EU standards, improve product inspection standards. At the same time, our own laboratory will also introduce a number of high-tech equipment to improve special inspection capabilities.

Snoopy: Removed from the shelves for rectification

Snoopy agent replied: Our company has removed and rectified unqualified goods as soon as possible, and immediately took products from large goods and sent them to third-party testing institutions for testing.

Snafi: Re-examined

Snafi agent replied: Our company has removed unqualified goods, and internally inspected the goods, and will strictly grasp the implementation of relevant standards in the future. The same product has been arranged to be sent to other quality inspection agencies for re-testing, and the retest results are qualified.

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