From: http://dynamics.org/Altenberg/CURRENT_AFFAIRS/CHINA_PLASTIC/
QuoteNo, you're not alone to find that there is a horrible-smelling chemical coming from that item you recently bought that was made in China. New chemicals appear to have entered the Chinese manufacturing stream since around 2005 or so that are now flooding into US markets in a variety of products. Try Google on ["made in China smell"]. Something in the nature of the problem has prevented a widespread response — US toxics laws are inadequate, most people are either oblivious to odor, are too busy, stoic, in denial, passive, or resigned, to do anything, or believe that the chemicals will "air out", or don't realize this is a new problem, or — most dangerously — think it is "normal". This Web site is created in the hope of changing that. Below is a description of how I came upon this issue.
Friend sent this link to Me. Both Our spidy senses are telling Us someOne's using Chinese goods to poison Humans...
Thats disturbing, Amy...recently my wife brought home some bungee cords, and they reek bad! I washed them and they still smell like some kind of toxic chemical...made in china..go figure.
They went promptly in the trash.
Good post..shared it with several folks and on FB, too!
Cheers!
Good work, LE.
Yeah, I so rarely get anything new, so I have not had the problem recently, but I do remember getting some shoes a few years back... Gag.
I will put the Deuem nose to work but I can say as of today I have noticed anything. Maybe I am just used to it.
If you have any products in mine I can check them out. Sniff them out sort of speak.
My new keyboard and mouse smell ok. Well the keyboard does smell a little like coffee. Glad I got the water proof one this time.
Hey Littleenki, is that what happened to my old shoes? The bungee cords, were they solid or wrapped?
Dueum, they were the skinny ones with the cheap removable hooks..straight outta harbor freight.
rubber core, with fabric stretchy outside..multi colored with stripes. typical bungee fare.
In the landfill now though, keeping your shoes company.
Le
Ok Littleenki, I have a store down the street that sells these. I even have a few on my bike for tie downs.
The next time I am in that store I will grab a hand full and give a good wiff.
I am wondering how ever if this smell is bug spray?
Many containers are forced to spray the goods so that bugs from one country do not get to another.
I know that shipping wood either way is this way. maybe they took it across the board.
If it is done on a fabric the smell will be there for a long time.
If it is done on plastic, then one wash should remove the order.
This is something one would have to test.
Deuem
Hey, Dueum, I agree, it may be bug spray or some kind of preservative to allow the products to sit on ships and in warehouses for a while, without degradation.
Most likely some type of dangerous preservative though, as anything that smells like this cant be good!LOL!
I found one of the bungee cords that I hadnt thrown out, it was holding my grass catcher onto the fence for my lawnmower...it hangs in the sun and rain for about a year now, and the smell is still as potent as ever.
Took a good whiff..and it seems to smell like a slightly smoky smell, with a benzene hint.
Definitely not a fine wine!LOL!
The benzene hint is quite nauseating, and the smokiness is very obvious..Im sure they havent been burned as they have color still..so to me that is just another aspect of the chemical makeup of the rubber or sheating.
Pretty nasty though, and this one wont ever get a shot at coming into the house again!
Cheers!
The friend who pointed Me to this issue said that some boots He got He washed with soap and water, trying to get rid of the smell, and even after a very thorough washing (He's a chemophobe, so You know He worked hard at it!), the smell did not dissipate.
If it was sprayed on, One would think the washing would eliminate the bulk of the problem...
I would hope washing would remove it..but it seems to be embedded in the material itself..Yuck!
I hope they figure it out, before everything smells like benzene and smoke! :o
Le
I'll be on the smell out here in Oz in local big box hardware stores (no use naming them here as you guys wont know the names as they are not american names and pointless to this discussion)
I have not smelt this smell mentioned in wooden box's manufacutered from cheap ply wood at work that is for sure where some of our prototypes come from.
I've also not smelt this pungent smell in local big box hardware shops.
So coming from an Australian perspective if it helps? Our wooden box deliverys which happen on a daily basis from Mainland China are not smelling and they contain plastic products. Sometime they may contain crap though, but that goes for most of the planet no matter where its made :D
Quote from: Somamech on October 08, 2012, 07:19:22 PM
I'll be on the smell out here in Oz in local big box hardware stores (no use naming them here as you guys wont know the names as they are not american names and pointless to this discussion)
I have not smelt this smell mentioned in wooden box's manufacutered from cheap ply wood at work that is for sure where some of our prototypes come from.
I've also not smelt this pungent smell in local big box hardware shops.
So coming from an Australian perspective if it helps? Our wooden box deliverys which happen on a daily basis from Mainland China are not smelling and they contain plastic products. Sometime they may contain crap though, but that goes for most of the planet no matter where its made :D
Australia may have a different shipping time or requirement which doesnt allow for the addition of certain chemicals..hard to tell.
The worst smell Ive sensed is from those bungees, and as someone mentioned..the local Harbor freight stor.very strong in there..I onder if it affects those who work there in the long run?
Le
It's also conceivable that China is only shipping the "bad" products to the US of A... How big a beef is there between Australia and China...?
Quote from: Amaterasu on October 08, 2012, 07:48:55 PM
It's also conceivable that China is only shipping the "bad" products to the US of A... How big a beef is there between Australia and China...?
Hmm, i didnt think of that...
Doesnt China need us healthy though, were their cash cow..
Le
I think They don't need ALL of Us healthy. And then there are timelines to consider - perhaps They expect conflict over Iran, and by making many of Us ill, They weaken Us.
Quote from: Amaterasu on October 08, 2012, 08:21:54 PM
I think They don't need ALL of Us healthy. And then there are timelines to consider - perhaps They expect conflict over Iran, and by making many of Us ill, They weaken Us.
Another great point, the lock is being picked...
Le
Hi Dave, Did you ever contact Harbor Freight and ask them?
It seems these products are dipped or sprayed for a reason. What the reason is I don't know yet. If you could, could you ask them if they have a problem?
Deuem
I have imported Chinese Electric Cycles in the past, but No Smell, on the bikes or in the Containers they were in.
There were many plastic panels but they had next to no smell, other than the normal plastic smell.
But we had to strip completely, every cycle and rebuild them again.
Quality Control was virtually non existent and had to either repair Components or
have replacement Components shipped to us on a regular basis.
And often parts were missing. Lacking quality inspections during Manufacture and Assembly.
The Chinese Company was a Contractor to a Large American Company involving American
input.
Electrics and Mechanical design was Not good, especially switches and connectors.
We also imported petrol powered Quad bikes and motorcycles, including "Pocket Quad bikes" and "Pocket bikes".
These too had their design faults, and in some cases we had to redesign and manufacture some parts.
The manufacturers were always willing to oblige though and fairly promptly.
One thing that was prominent though, and that was the use of poor grade Steels.
Dueum, Ive asked the manager what the smell was, I went there yesterday for some casters..LOL!...and she told me it was from the packaging they use in China, and that it actually is some sort of plastic they wrap everything with and apply an oil to it to keep it from rusting while coming across the sea in poorly sealed vessels.
She also told me that some of their items stay on the docks for upwards of a year or so, and remain in that very same packaging as long. She suggested that the oil was a unique type with a real nasty smell that permeated the plastic parts of their products, and as I walked through the store, I sniffed around a lot.
Everything plastic had a different smell, some bad some not and there was no rhyme or reason..some items didnt smell at all, and what I noticed was the worst ones were with the rubbery or flexible plastic they use for softer parts.
The tires had a distinct odor of rubber, but not like a tire..kinda like the smoky smell I smelled on my bungees.
Nasty!!!
When I thought about it, I got nauseous and I got the heck outta there right quick!LOL!
The casters I bought have hard rubber tires, and no smell at all, save for a bit of oily residue which I wiped easily off.
I agree with Matrix though, the materials and manufacruing is very subpar in the Chinese products, and this country as a whole needs to just stop buying the stuff until they make it to last more than one use, like Harbor Freight's tools seem to be made.
Walmart and others have the Chinese products packaged more nice that Harbor Freight, but inside is the same old crap..cheap cheap, cheap.
Oh well, I guess it just involves some personal awareness of what your buying these days, and sound decisions to not further the cause of greed.
Cheers!
First of all, I think everyone in every country should support their own country when ever possible. I do not like to see millions of people forced out of work just so a couple of elite can get richer. I do like international trade if it is done right.
We would not have that nice hot cup of coffee in the US with out it. Nor a lot of things we like. So trade is great for sharing things world wide as long as it is fair. So what we like and what we need have to change. Yes, we need coffee! That has to stay on the list for me.
I have shipped many things both ways across the pacific and I tell you it is very hard to keep the salt air out. Even if you put your container inside it still gets hit. I have never seen an air tight sealed container. Metal goods either have to be sprayed or plated. Nickel works. Every part needs to be platted if it would rust. Just a flash plate works well. I had many tools done this way with nothing rusting. Otherwise oil is the key. Now, just don't think China to the states has this problem. Any ocean cargo from anywhere has it.
All those bananas would be a pile of rust if they were metal. Coffee beans would be rusted balls and so on. Even cars take a hit and they are shipped inside. A lot of work and money needs to go into the rust prevention process.
What happens to the product, like matrix says... Most of the companies are being beat over the head every day to make it cheaper. Then cheaper again! So they start to skip every corner they can. On the other hand I have seen products produced her with exactly the same quality and material as at home. 100% can't tell them apart. Then comes greed!
The bosses what to maximize profits and start telling them to cut corners to make it cheaper while they make more.
I have a friend that was being beat up on prices so bad he went out of business. The Buyers would start at a good price and then continue every day to get it down. Telling the owners lies. This one buyer was telling the owner that because of the high price, he was not able to sell the product and it needed to be cut again and again. The price finally got so low he was losing money but the buyer said this is what you have to do until the market changed.
This went on for over a year, and then the company folded. The owner latter found out that all during this time the buyer was always increasing his selling price and lowering his buying price until he was making almost pure profit. This practice is done here daily. If you don't know what is going on outside, you will be taken for a ride. So you, the end customer had to live through it also. The product, getting cheaper and cheaper every month until it just falls apart on its own.
In the states we have a saying of Tail light guarantee. Here it is once the money changes hands, you're done. Not all the time but most of it.
Slowly I am seeing things change and the people are fighting back and not buying the junk. As I always say, that is the easy way. Just don't buy it....Deuem
Just dont buy it...wise words!
Our problem here in the states is we need a device or apparatus to do everything for us..a million little things bubble packaged and hung on the walls at walmart, to be bought, used for a year, then sent to the landfill when they break or fail.
Then, as we have become so enamored with the way these little plastic gizmos make our lives so much "easier" we buy the same thing again and go through the cycle of planned obsolescence or planned failure. And heres a culprit of this mentality right here....
(http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/dollar-store-2.jpg)
No, not the store itself, the dummies shopping there.
I could go for a campaign nationwide to shut down every Dollar Store and throw their entire stocks of crap into the sea!
Of course we cant make everything here, many parts for our American cars come from japanese and chinese suppliers, the electronics to be specific, but if the US made a concerted effort towards making more and more of their own materials and products ..heck even 30 percent more..our economy would make a return from the brink.
People dont realize its their own greed and laziness which has created this sad state of affairs, most just coast through life unaware of how and why they are perpetuating the whole fall of the American economy.
And, planned obsolescence should immediately be defined as a crime against mankind by all nations..that would be one of my first goals as a leader of any nation..to root out those who use planned obsolescnece for greed and profit, and shut their asses down.
Like the old guys say, myself included to a degree.."I remember when cars used to last fifty years"..and its true.
Cheers!
Le
Did not planned obsolescence start in the states with the great light bulb planned obsolescence kick off. No money to be made. In answer to your planned obsolescence question, In my mind it all depends on where it ends up. If it is a land fill then it is not OK b any means. If it is re-cycled then it might actually help everyone. Work means jobs, even the re-cycle jobs. Trash means waste and I think we have all seen enough of that.
Look at those new juice boxes that were designed in the states. What 7 or more layers of product, you can't get apart. That stuff ends up in the land fill. I drive my wife crazy all the time because I do look for things in the same product family that can be re-cycled. If I can get it in say Stainless steel, OK, buy it.
It will last me my life time and yours and then it can be re-cycled. Glass is better than plastic and paper over mixed foils. So what to buy and what to toss,
Easy, just look in your garbage every week and make a list. If you try hard, it should get smaller every week. All of our food garbage gets purchased by pig farmers. You toss it out. They buy it here...My garbage, actual garbage is now maybe less than a tenth of what it was in the states. At home I used to need my pickup just to haul it all away. Just my mailbox would be a ton a month. Start there. Change your box so it can not fit junk mail and tell the post man you don't want it anymore.
Change the way you buy and collect garbage. Garbage in, Garbage out. Deuem
Right on Dueum, Zorgon will tell you about what to do with that garbage...burn it!
Every year I save until the first cold snap, then we have a massive bonfire, and everyone in the hood joins in. We have to stroe a few bags of paper for about six months but its fun and worth it when we all come together for a neighborly gathering.
last year we had thirty bags of just junk mail, and about forty phone books...with some oak on top the fire burned all night!
This year, Ive got three big bags of junk mail, and ten phone books already..wheres that cold front?;)
Cheers!
Well for the thread I had to work on fixing some chinese made proto's tonight and there was no smell in box or parts. These are air frieghted so whether that equates into the equasion of what some are smelling who knows ?
Although this wont help the thread getting down to the smell reported. In a thread I started with some mil gadgets, the bumper bar was made in China and took many moons too straighten out due to it being warped from the supplier packing it in a box that it didnt fit into. >:(
I am honestly over quality in this regard. If I want to make stuff in Asia I would get the Japanese, Taiwanese or Sth Koreans to make my stuff if I had stuff to be made. Always nearly get a part from those companys that are base in the forementioned that is well beyond expectations.
I work for an American company now and have seen some of the flimsiest manufacturing that ranks highly in the Fail catorgery. Thats not a picking on America statement either... just saying what I have seen with nearly 12 years experience in protoyping ;)
Yeah Soma, thats why America had started to buy up the japanese cars starting in the late 60's..our factories were churning out crap, too!
As for these days, when something is made here, the manufacturer hires the cheapest possible labor..there's just no pride for the average working man here anymore.
Thank goodness Im self employed, and can grow my business through quality and excellent customer service. For me there's no alternative.
Our corporations could be so much more successful if they would just stop taking so much profit and offering a bit more to the consumer in the way of hiring quality employees and extending the life and quality of their products.
Yeah right, then the executives would have to step down to a cheaper rolls royce!LOL!
Cheers!
There's no pride for several reasons:
1. Money/profit is legally the most important goal for all corporations
2. The labor has no vestment into the product - no recognition
3. Labor is most often treated poorly
When I lived in China, I was surprised to see many products being Manufactured
in China, by overseas Companies, many of which were American.
Overseas Companies do this, to get their prices down, using cheep Labor in China.
But I also remember, Japanese products were once seen to be rubbish, but today
it is much different.
I suspect Chinese products will change also, in years to come.
There are some awesome products Manufactured in China, especially High quality
Wooden Furniture, (some items above 30,000 $US) Jade products, (some more than
30 Kg in weight) large urns and other Ceramics etc. but there is also a lot of Low Quality furniture
produced at the other end of their Manufacturing as well.
I love jade...
Hi to Matrix,
You hit one nail square on. It all depends on if it is mas produced or made to order.
They have 3 standards here just like in the states. Poor middle class and rich. depending on who it is made for will determine the quality. Almost every mass produced item is so beaten to death for price it is a wonder why it stays together. Most of the time if you can still get it home with out it falling apart, you are lucky.
But I have many things that are going on years now. My fridge and TV are still in original shape and never serviced. My Chinese built SUV was made to international crash standards and has only had very few minor problems so far ( 4 years old )
I do suggest to have most people start their own work like Dave does. It is worth it in the end. When you are the owner and cheif bottle washer, you get things done better. Remember Bill Gates started in his garage....
Latest smell index is Zero. Been wiffing everything.
Deuem
I have had reports from People here in the states that many of the Chinese imports are exuding this smell, and I conclude that it must be that such tainted item are sent only to the US...
Quote from: Amaterasu on October 20, 2012, 07:01:22 PM
I have had reports from People here in the states that many of the Chinese imports are exuding this smell, and I conclude that it must be that such tainted item are sent only to the US...
There are two things you can do, find out where they really came from and complain over and over till it stops or never buy them. Pick a product made in your country and go with out it.
All of this might be coming from just one shipper who is doing it for hate or rules.
Oh, to be sure, there are ways around this, but I do believe that the point of the site in the OP is to raise awareness and attempt to eliminate the problem...
Quote from: Amaterasu on October 21, 2012, 04:20:43 PM
Oh, to be sure, there are ways around this, but I do believe that the point of the site in the OP is to raise awareness and attempt to eliminate the problem...
Yes I agree with the OP and stopping the problem. So far in this thread we have had statements on both sides. So some stuff smells and some does not. If the some one wants to stop this then more homework needs to be done. Who ever is getting smelly goods should log them in and find out where they were imported from. And what is that smell. Bring the smelly thing to a government office and give it to them as a treat. Ask them to tell you what the problem is.
I did this once with water and they did a very good job with 2 test labs and free. Go to the local DEP office and ask for help. After all they are their just for that reason.
Plastics are also like wood, they all have a different smell. Maybe Littleenki ropes used untreated rubber and your smelling it pure and we are all used to treated rubber that has no smell. Treating costs more money. It could be just that simple or it could really be a toxic problem. If so, do your civic duty and turn that part in and see what happens. I would complain with product in hand, sealed in a plastic bag.
Deuem