Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 4th, New Media Special Topic: IKEA’s faulty furniture has not been recalled in China. Is it a double standard or is it different between China and foreign countries?
Xinhua News Agency "China Net" reporter Wang Yang Zhou Rui Mao Weihao
Recently, IKEA Group was caught in a "recall door" due to furniture safety risks. First, at the end of June, local time, it announced the recall of the "Desperate chest of drawers" malm chest of drawers in North America, but made it clear that it would not recall the same products in China. Then it announced the full recall of all models of Patru security doors, involving products sold in China, which needed to be removed from the shelves, returned and refunded.
It is also a recall. Why does IKEA have different standards for different products? The "recall door" quickly became a hot spot for netizens. Some netizens questioned IKEA’s avoidance of responsibility: "Why treat it differently? Who is responsible for the safety problems of these cabinets that are still on sale? " Some netizens said: "Can the standards for protecting consumers be different between China and foreign countries?" What principles does IKEA furniture recall follow? Are there double standards or differences between China and foreign countries in recalls? The reporter launched an investigation into this.
Why didn’t the "Desperate chest of drawers" be recalled? IKEA: Different standards
The reporter learned that the so-called "Desperate chest of drawers" recalled by IKEA this time included 35.6 million chest of drawers including the best-selling malm series. According to the official website of the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States, since 1989, six children have been killed and 36 children have been injured by these problems. The cause of the accident is that the furniture is not fixed on the wall and overturned, causing tragedy.
This kind of chest of drawers is also sold in China, but the current recall scope of IKEA is limited to North America, and IKEA China has made it clear that it will not recall the chest of drawers sold in China.
In response to a reporter, IKEA China Headquarters in Shanghai said that the recall in the North American market was based on a voluntary ASTM standard (American Society for Testing Materials), and the company reached a unanimous decision after consulting with the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States. At present, in the China market, IKEA has not received any cases of injury accidents caused by this series of drawers, and the related products of IKEA meet Chinese national standards. Ikea officials explained that the accidents in the United States were all because the cabinets were not fixed on the wall.
The reporter went to the IKEA store in Beijing Siyuanqiao Shopping Mall, and the malm chest of drawers was still on sale. A salesperson told reporters that there are many models of drawers in malm. "The sales of six drawers have been very good." It is understood that the height of chest of drawers in malm is usually more than 60 cm, and the style is simple and practical. Some families will put the chest in children’s rooms as lockers.
For the situation that children climbing on the net are easy to be overwhelmed, the reporter did an experiment in the shopping mall. When the bottom drawer was completely opened, he pressed hard to replace the weight of the children. Because the cabinet was not fixed on the wall, the chest of drawers shook.
According to experts in the furniture industry, IKEA’s one-stop sales model gives consumers all the initiative in purchasing and installing, while most consumers pay more attention to product quality, style and practicality when purchasing, and few people pay attention to whether such furniture will bring risks to children’s safety.
Are there differences between Chinese and American home safety standards? Furniture is the key.
With regard to the China furniture standard raised in IKEA’s "recall door", the reporter found that the China standard that IKEA claimed to abide by was the new national standard GB/T 10357.4-2013 on "cabinet stability" published by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the National Standardization Administration of China on October 10th, 2013, which was officially implemented on May 1st, 2014. Compared with the 1989 standard, the item of "stability of fixed cabinets" has been added, but this item does not stipulate that furniture must be fixed on the wall.
In fact, in August 2012, China has officially implemented the compulsory national standard "General Technical Conditions for Children’s Furniture". The standard clearly stipulates that all high tables and cabinets with a height greater than 600 mm should provide connectors to fix the products on the building. The standard also requires that children’s furniture should clearly indicate the applicable age of the product in the instructions for use, and warn of potential risks during installation and use.
In the standard safety rules of clothing storage unit numbered ASTM F 2057-14 in the United States, the requirements of opening angle, drawer pull-out length, applied weight, etc. of chest of drawers during stability test are specified in detail, and pictures are provided. In addition, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said, "The Consumer Council and IKEA Group urge consumers to ensure that furniture should be properly fixed on the wall, regardless of whether the furniture meets ASTM standards."
In real life, many parents often buy ordinary wooden furniture because of the beautiful decoration of the whole family and sufficient storage space. In the consideration of the safety of these furniture, the "unstable factor" of children is often ignored, and the "chest of drawers" that have caused tragedies in the United States are not children’s furniture.
Some consumers believe that only by unifying, refining and implementing furniture safety standards can children avoid accidents when using them.
Activists: IKEA infringes on the fair trade rights of consumers in China.
Defenders such as Wang Hai, the "first person to crack down on counterfeit goods in China", think that IKEA has other ways to kill the inside and outside of the chest of drawers, which obviously infringes on the fair trade rights of consumers in China, and suggest that consumers bring a lawsuit in court. Ikea dares to do this, mainly because the operator’s responsibility stipulated by Chinese law is too light.
Although the official of IKEA said that it had not received any cases of injury accidents caused by related drawers in China market, the reporter found that some consumers reported the safety problems of IKEA drawers only through online search. A netizen in Shenzhen, Guangdong introduced his recent experience: "The baby first opened the bottom drawer, and then opened the drawers one by one. When the top drawer was opened, the cabinet suddenly leaned forward, some drawers fell out, and the cabinet finally fell on the drawer. The baby stood on the side when pulling the top drawer, so he didn’t press it. "
Some consumers with similar experiences told reporters that after being reminded by the media, they did find that the furniture instructions required to nail cabinets to the wall and provide corresponding accessories. Although parents also have responsibilities, they just don’t quite understand what responsibilities they should bear as a production enterprise.
On June 30th, the Consumer Council of Shenzhen publicly questioned why IKEA did not recall similar products in China. Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision and Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau also interviewed IKEA (China) Investment Co., Ltd. at the first time, asking IKEA to earnestly fulfill the main responsibility of enterprise quality and safety, carefully investigate the hidden dangers of product safety, and ensure the personal and property safety of consumers. The quality inspection department will further verify the relevant situation, urge IKEA to strictly abide by China laws and regulations and relevant standards, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers in China.
The Consumer Council of Shenzhen believes that the right to life and health is the most basic human right, and it should be equally and indiscriminately protected in any country and any region. If similar products recalled in North China are publicly sold in the market, IKEA Group must recall them unconditionally. The relevant laws in China have made strict provisions on protecting citizens’ right to life and health and recalling defective products. When IKEA Group engages in business activities in China market, it must abide by the provisions of China laws and regulations, and effectively protect the right to life and health of China consumers from infringement.
(Participating in writing: Xu Xiangda)
