CCMI announces massive Japanese recall of Chinese origin products fraudulently labelled "cashmere"

BOSTON and TOKYO, February 13, 2007 -- The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute announced that recent CCMI activities in the Japanese market have resulted in large recalls of mislabeled cashmere products. The recalls affected more than 800,000 garments --sweaters and mufflers. The mislabelled garments, which had been manufactured in the Peoples Republic of China, were imported into Japan by various companies. The recall has been widely publicized in the Japanese press.

The garments had been delivered to retailers including department stores and supermarkets. And it is there that CCMI, as part of the organization's monitoring and enforcement activities, discovered the mislabelling. "We had representative garments tested at independent laboratories and they were found to have actual cashmere content significantly less than that stated on the labels," said CCMI's Japan representative, Mr. Kenneth Shimizu. CCMI informed the retailers of the mislabelling which was in violation of Japan's Household Goods Quality Labeling Act and Unjustifiable Premiums and Mislabeling Prevention Act. Confronted with proof of the mislabeling of the garments, the retailers contacted their suppliers, the garment importers, who immediately carried out their own tests on the remaining stock.

According to Karl Spilhaus, CCMI president, Chinese native sheep wool is being found in many Chinese-origin garments, not only in Japan, but also in the U.S. and Europe. The wool is fine in micron and often the physical structure is deliberately damaged by harsh chemical treatment. Inexperienced analytical laboratories will fail to identify this contaminant. Spilhaus warned U.S., European and Japanese retailers and importers to check garments at CCMI-approved laboratories. He also noted the presence of yak fiber, another hard to identify contaminant, which is often found in woven cashmere products, not only of Chinese but also of European origin. Identification of yak also requires an experienced analyst.

"This is about fairness of trade and protection of consumers,” said CCMI's Shimizu. While CCMI has taken legal action on mislabelled goods in the U.S. and Europe, Mr. Shimizu emphasized: “our ultimate objective is not prosecution.”

The CCMI president praised the Japanese retailers and importers for their responsible action in recalling the product when mislabelling was found. Stated Mr. Spilhaus: “These problems could have been avoided by sufficient attention, on the part of the importers, to the quality of the articles sourced in China." He added: “CCMI is ready to work with the trade providing the latest accurate information on fiber testing and evaluation.”