Jane Lai
IN a citywide sample test of shoes being sold at shopping malls, nearly 40 percent were found to fail tests for the national shoe standards, Shenzhen Consumer Council said Tuesday.
Since December, the consumer council purchased 55 batches of shoes at Shirble, Rainbow, Moi and Sun Plaza department stores, which involved 28 shoe manufacturers.
The test result showed that 20 batches failed to meet the country s shoe standards, 60 percent of which were women s shoes. Major problems were related to durability, heel hardness, bending resistance property, label, steel hook and sole adhesion strength.
Among the brands were Senda, Comrade, Fuguiniao and Pito Deng, which can be found at most shopping malls.
In recent years, Shenzhen Consumer Council has received a number of complaints about the quality and after-sales services of shoes.
In one case, a resident surnamed Gao spent several hundred yuan buying a pair of brand-name leather shoes at a shopping mall in Nanshan District. Two months later, the soles of the shoes were broken and it took the manufacturer more than 20 days to repair the shoes. Gao, desperate, had to buy another pair of shoes while her shoes were being repaired.
The sample test aimed to urge shoe manufacturers and sellers to offer satisfactory products and provide consumers with quality information, said Chen Shaowen, head of the consumer council.
When buying shoes, consumers should pay special attention to the heel and the sole, Chen said.
