The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) yesterday said that in the past week it seized more than 1,700 pieces of clothing, home furnishings, towels and footwear labeled “made in Taiwan” that were actually manufactured in China and elsewhere.
The bureau said over the past few days it had been conducting raids on clothing stores and roadside stalls in popular shopping areas in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Chiayi and other parts of the country. The 1,759 incorrectly labeled garments discovered during the raids are part of 14,000 examples of mislabeled, unlabeled or otherwise substandard imported textile products seized by authorities to date, the bureau said.
By labeling Chinese-made products with tags indicating that the garment was made in Taiwan, manufacturers and shops hope to trick consumers willing to pay more for locally-made products
The seized products included undergarments, aprons, T-shirts, coats, dresses, bedding, socks, towels and slippers.
Aside from raiding retail outlets, authorities also discovered a factory in Kaohsiung City that specialized in cutting off the original clothing labels and replacing them with tags bearing false information, deputy director-general Huang Lai-ho (黃來和) said.
As it is alleged that the factory attempted to defraud consumers, in violation of the Criminal Code (刑法), local authorities have opened an investigation, Huang said, adding that the owner may face a prison sentence of up to one year if found guilty.
The bureau said that it has gathered hundreds of leads on manufacturers and retailers across the country suspected of similar attempts to trick consumers, and said that it plans to continue to conduct raids and issue warnings.
Businesses that fail to take questionable products off their shelves and make improvements within the deadline given by the bureau would have their names and addresses publicized on the bureau’s official Web site, as well as face fines of between NT$20,000 and NT$200,000, Huang said.
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