Xiaoshan Inspection Bureau announced on 2 September 2015 that it returned a batch of women’s knitting T-shirts imported from France totaling 80 pieces due to the pH values were not compliant with the mandatory national standards in China.

The sampling test for the aforesaid costumes found that the pH value was 9.4, not conforming to GB 18401-2010 National general safety technical code for textile products (a mandatory national standards in China). According to stipulations of Standardization Law of the People’s Republic of China and Regulations for the Implementation of the Standardization Law of the People's Republic of China, noncompliant products are prohibited for import and sale. So Xiaoshan Bureau returned the goods after consultation with trade importers and foreign traders within the jurisdiction.

pH value in textiles refers to the residue of acid and alkali in fabrics, which is an index of hazardous substances that may affect human safety and health. GB 18401-2010 sets forth that the pH values for textile products as the following:

Category	pH Value
Category A (textile products for infants and young children)	4.0 to 7.5
Category B (textile products in direct contact with skin)	4.0 to 8.5
Category C (textile products not in direct contact with skin)	4.0 to 9.0 (4.0 to 10.5, for non-final products that require wet-processing in follow-up processing)

The pH value of human skin is usually mildly acidic (between 5.5 and 7.0). Where pH value of textiles exceeding the limit, it damages the surface environment of the skin which easily induces itches, bacterial infraction and even dermatitis. In addition, textiles are more easily to be damaged if their pH values lean to either extreme. Seeing from the above, pH values of textiles are not only closely associated with consumer health but also their own quality.

Reminder: Imported textiles should comply with the technical code of China. So it is advisable that companies should learn about national mandatory standards and choose authoritative inspection labs for 3rd-party testing to avoid trade disputes and unnecessary economic losses.