New sofas (from China) to blame for rash of allergies

[depakid]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

AN unexplained rash could be a sign that your couch is making you sick. A toxic fungicide in imported furniture is behind an outbreak of chronic dermatitis, skin burns, eye irritation and breathing difficulties across the world. Medical experts here are warning consumers to watch for symptoms.

The international journal Allergy has confirmed what thousands of British and mainland European citizens have known for more than a year: new leather sofas imported from China are a hotbed of allergens. Dimethyl fumarate, in the form of a fine, white crystalline powder, was found in sachets embedded in the furniture sourced to China. It is believed the body heat generated from sitting on a contaminated couch causes a toxic vapour to seep out.

Rosemary Nixon, from Melbourne's Skin and Cancer Foundation, said although there have been no reported cases in Australia, people may not have made a link between a skin outbreak and their couch. "The rashes can be quite severe, this chemical is a really strong allergen," Dr Nixon said. "It can make the skin itchy enough to prevent sleep, and cortisone creams and sometimes even cortisone tablets are needed to calm it down."

About 200,000 of the suspect couches have been imported by 15 furniture retailers in Britain alone and compensation for victims, some of whom required hospital treatment, could be in the tens of millions of dollars. The European Union and British governments ordered a recall of all products containing dimethyl fumarate late last month.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-sofas-to-blame-for-rash-of-allergies-20090411-a3e2.html

[sasquatch]

1. Yes, but to make furniture in the USA would be marxism

[glinda]

3. Yes. It would create jobs. No one wants that.

:sarcasm:

[grahamhgreen]

15. That's right! Commie! Marxist! Socialist! Anti-Christian!

[MadMaddie]

20. Or it could be "Isolationism"!

:sarcasm:

Cuz you see in order for us to be successful as a country we must allow other countries to import poisenous goods to our citizens so the Corporations can continue to make their billions.......:sarcasm:

[Deja Q]

31. Or the evils of "protectionism"

Other countries apparently do it, but for the US media to even humor the idea (which we're currently, to my knowledge, not doing at all) and the world throws a huge hissy-fit tantrum.

[Odin2005]

29. Or makes us "evil protectionists that hate the 3rd World"

A BS argument based on black-and-white thinking between total free trade and total economic isolation. Free trade only works between economic equals in which regulations and wages are similar in both countries, otherwise it leads to a race to the bottom, resulting in an economically destructive deflationary situation.

[Deja Q]

54. And when China is gutted for the next cheap country, it'll hurt them more.

BTW: I didn't see your post until now; I'd posted my "evil protectionism" like 45 minutes after you had... sorry about that.

:pals:

[Odin2005]

59. No problem! n/t.

[mzmolly]

36. Heh

good von. ;)

[sasquatch]

47. Thank you, I liked it myself

[ixion]

2. At some point there will be a watershed moment, and we will start making things here again

I always hope the latest example of toxic objects will catalyze that moment, but no such luck. Maybe this will be the one.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Killing our pets didn't do it

and apparently the population at large is agreeable to a small percentage of people dying from contaminated pharmaceuticals. I sincerely doubt that itchy-scratchy furniture will do the trick.

[ananda]

5. Don't forget the drywall

I agree.. there has to be a camel straw
moment sometime.

[notesdev]

7. or the poisoned baby food ~nt

[Cirque du So-What]

19. But, but...it wasn't that many babies!

We must be prepared to sacrifice a certain segment of the population - and that includes babies, who shouldn't be allowed to get off scot-free just because of their youth - in the pursuit of corporate profits!

[GinaMaria]

25. Here's more on the drywall

Chinese drywall poses potential risks: At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and apartment dwellers who are concerned that the wallboard gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people. Shipping records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090411/ap_on_bi_ge/chinese_drywall

IOW,If you bought a new home during the boom, you've been hosed on the price. Your home is worth less than you paid for it. If that home was made with toxic cheap materials, you've really been hosed and your home is worth even less.

[kimmerspixelated]

11. Exactly, and they don't seem to care

when they die from uncontaminated pharmaceuticals either!

[grahamhgreen]

16. Commie! Commie! Commie!

[Auggie]

6. And China thinks they can develop a reliable electric car?

Forget it...

[DCKit]

12. It'll be reliable. Then it will catch on fire and explode. Three times, like in the movies. n/t

[salguine]

8. it's time to implement a complete halt on imports of ANYTHING from China. It appears

they aren't capable of manufacturing anything—whether it's toys, food, furniture, building materials, etc.—that isn't, as Bill Maher put it, "made out of poison, mud and shit".

I realize that we get so much shit from China that halting all imports would be an earth-shattering change. But maybe if we took stock of everything we get from China, and actually began manufacturing it here ourselves, it might have a beneficial effect. And there are probably still be some very elderly people in America who remember how we once "made things", and might be able to show us how it was done.

Maybe we might put people back to work again. Maybe those people might then have money to spend, and that might help the economy, no?

Of course, the manufacturers in this country would have to pay a decent human wage to these American workers.

Oh...I just heard my whole idea grind to a halt.

[blue97keet]

27. Too bad Somalia isn't in the Pacifiic

to pirate the Walmart freighters.:sarcasm:

[rambler_american]

28. not to mention

closing of all Wal Marts.

[christx30]

44. There is something that needs to be discussed

corporations manufacture in china because of three things:
Lower environmental standards, slave labor from political prisoners, and probably sweet tax breaks.
How can businesses in this country hope to compete? And what can be made to stop it? Ban imports from China? Raise tariffs? We know that China is never going to raise their standards. And we should not lower ours. So how are we going to change things with that tyrannical, murderous country? It's going to take someone a lot smarter than I am to figure that out.

[riverdeep]

48. The problem, among many, is that poor people love WalMart.

WalMart decimated the original neighborhood shops, and now there is no alternative for a lot of people. They don't have access to independent stores or the internet.

Poor people in China making stuff to sell to poor people in America, with the elite of both countries raking it in.

[Submariner]

9. Burn thousands of tons of diesel fuel to ship sofas

across a wide ocean for use in the U.S., but not make them here!?! Ya, that makes sense. :think:

[bird gerhl]

10. Because of China my wife left me and my children disrespect me.

CHINA HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR!!!! :grr:

[Canuckistanian]

22. Thank you for your service

To the Red Army.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. I just googled American made furniture...lots of links popped up.

We won't buy foreign if we can help it.
Result: less shopping.

Hey, Mr. President....hear that ??????????

Edit to add:

American Made:
Products and Services - Made in USA

http://www.madeinusa.org/nav.cgi

[Deja Q]

34. A local furniture retailer is going out business, after 145 years.

Probably beaten by walmart's trash.

[WriteDown]

37. I watched a documentary on furtniture makers a few years ago..

I believe it costs an average of 15$/hr in the US to make furniture. Compare that to China where the same occupation earns 15 cents/hour. Unless serious tariffs are enacted, or Americans actually start BUYING American, nothing will happen.

[dixiegrrrrl]

58. Chinese products: cheap and toxic. A bargain.

[corpseratemedia]

51. right..thats what I'm doing

of course we've got a lot less funds because of outsourcing but if i need something "manufactured" I buy it second-hand or sometimes barter

so just multiply us by millions

tommy friedman, Mr. Gets It Wrong, you also listening??

[grahamhgreen]

14. Free Trade is not free. China is at war with the west, in case you haven't read "Art of War"

[aquart]

17. China has 32 million more boys than girls.

They are going to be FORCED to start a war soon just to get rid of some of them.

[depakid]

23. That's a disturbing thought....

[Deja Q]

32. 1.4 billion people and there are only 32 million more males than females?

In terms of the ratio, that's still not much.

700,000,000 women
732,000,000 men

:shrug:


Now if the ratio is 32,000,000 men to 1 woman, then there's a problem...

[aquart]

41. 32 million men roughly the same age.

[riverdeep]

49. Maybe we should send them DVD's of 'Tales of the City'. n/t

[primavera]

60. Must make it tough to get a date. n/t

[Hulk]

18. Just keep trucking that good old cheap shit in from China...

We are a nation of morons. We will NOT ever learn. China has already poisoned dog food, painted kids toys with lead paint, etc, etc, etc...but their shit is cheap...so we keep importing it with NO RESTRICTIONS and we keep buying it up for pennies on the dollar.

And then we are surprised it's made out of recycled bat shit???

[riverdeep]

50. They hold our debt.

There's no way we're saying jack squat to them. The president of the toy company Mattel had to publicly apologize to China. They've got us over a barrel and they know it.

Americans really are partially to blame here, though. They wanted 'always low prices, always'. But they never considered what they were giving up long term for those low prices. The American way of life was leveraged so people could buy a pack of tube socks for 99 cents.

[grahamhgreen]

65. Blame the victim. Default on our debt is the fastest way to a permantly balanced budget!

[trthnd4jstc]

21. It sure is crazy how so many Republicans and Democrats on the national level support China in WTO.

These peoples' China Policy are wrong. Wrong about China. There should be standards that imports have to meet for safety. Do the elites support trade with China in order to break the Back of their own Nation? It seems so to me.

[medeak]

24. chinese aristocrats buy Ethan Allen lol

no wonder!

[RedCloud]

26. Do not reveal Mao's master plan until it is too late.

Once they start selling us neck massage loops with instructions to place the other end on a tall tree and jump.

Okay seriously where the hell is quality control for consumers.

Do we need a new branch of government to fend for the consumers with reasonable prices for reasonable crap?

[Dappleganger]

30. Why do Mericans have to outsource allergies?

At least the peanut industry did it right the first time!

[bkkyosemite]

33. No more crap from China...they are trying to kill us!

[Deja Q]

39. And people in other countries that import and themselves too.

Now I see why the Dollar must remain the backup currency. Especially with China's previous manipulation, do we really want a one world currency standard? Or is it better just to keep the message separate from its full-of-contradictions messenger?

[april]

35. repost this on Monday ....

no not just the dog food,our food ,baby food ,drywall, and now this ! I hope the pirates take all of the ships from china ..

[quidam56]

38. China regulates US

Our mountains are being decapitated to power China and the schools here in "BIG COAL" country ( Wise County, Virginia ) don't even have adequate power supplies to run the latest technology our kids deserve to compete on a global scale. http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138 Our environment and health care are 3rd world standards, we can't stand much more of the prosperity...

[littlebit]

40. I bet there has never been a case of toxic furniture

the was made here in NC. To bad people wanted cheap crap. I guess we get what we pay for.

[Divine Discontent]

43. we're becoming slaves to the cheaper items, however, I'd rather go without

than buy a Chinese product I knew was inferior. And that's the way Americans should be - suffer and do without until you can buy something that won't poison you instead of saying, "oh hey, this cheap couch from China is only $399, that's 500 less than American one, let's get it!"...

America slowly is waking up (too late). I often tell people in stores I'm searching for the American made product not the Chinese knock off, and they say often, "I didn't even think of doing that".... DUH! They're only responsible for hundreds and hundreds of reports of contaminated and toxic items over the past 5 years - no reason to PAY ATTENTION!

[littlebit]

61. I'm the same way.

Especially when it comes to furniture. I would rather pay a little more for a quality product than pay less for garbage.

[OwnedByFerrets]

42. The things that are toxic from China is going to grow and grow.

[defendandprotect]

45. We're dragging sofas from China .. . because we've forgotten how to make them . . .!!!???

Anyone notice what junk our products are these days ---?

From steam irons to toaster ovens -- and then there are the incredible shrinking

products!!!

I paid $5.99 for a tube of Sensodyne tooth past last week!!!

[corpseratemedia]

52. and incredibly flimsy cotton clothing

remember when working/middle class people could by a decent cotton shirt, that's now a high-end item

and of course you gotta wash the shirt first because the Chinese use formaldehyde on them

[defendandprotect]

62. Just happen to . . .

have been trying to buy my son a white shirt -- couldn't afford one !!!

$60 for Calvin Klein!?!

Didn't know about the formaldehyde tho-!!!

[MADem]

46. Funny....all this toxic shit is coming FROM the "commies."

I can't fathom why anyone could call objection to shoddy material from a government that is run on the communist model, at least in terms of how the citizens interact with said government, as being somehow subversive...!

[Deja Q]

55. Or "arrogant".

[dipsydoodle]

53. Exactly what it is it

that actully makes you lot buy anything which was made in China ? Wouldn't it just be easier to not buy their stuff and find something else to whine about. :shrug:

[Deja Q]

56. Most of us lot try not to..

Sometimes unavoidable.

Especially with more US stores and factories closing.

With the difference in cost of living, the US cannot compete. It's not about "talent". It's about "money".

[Lone_Star_Dem]

57. It was that lot on the other side of the pond that that bought the stuff

At least the UK purchases of said furniture, and subsequent allergic reactions, were the basis for the article above.


Here's another story regarding the contaminated furniture and a resulting lawsuit.
Pay-out due in 'toxic sofa' claim

A judge is expected to order several retailers to pay millions of pounds to people who suffered burns and rashes from faulty leather sofas.

The BBC now has evidence that Argos, Walmsleys and Land of Leather, accept liability - subject to it being proved that injuries were caused by the sofas.

More than 1,600 people claim to have been affected by the problem.

Tens of thousands more people could have burns not yet traced to sofas.


More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7961969.stm

[Javaman]

63. so while sitting on my couch...

I noticed my ass rotting off!! I said, to myself, "self? WTF? And why am I having such a hard time breathing?" then I remembered, my drywall was from china! Crap, I went over to the refrigerator and took out some milk and thought, "hmmm, peanut butter on bread would be nice". I made my simple snack, sat down on my ass rotter, flicked on the TV, only to be told by the tv spokes model that milk and peanut butter from china can kill me!!! "What! The! fuck!???".

when did we start importing whole sale portable superfund sites from China?????? oh yeah, I forgot, they own us now. Sigh.

[AlphaCentauri]

64. them, those cats must be communist, is it spring yet?

the doctor said that cat hair and pollen give me allergies.