Swiss firms recall Bangladesh-made shoes

Swiss shoe retailers Bata and Vögele have recalled models of shoes made in Bangladesh from their stores after tests found they contained a cancer-causing chemical, according to internet newspaper The Local.

The report quoted a local news agency, ATS news, to say that tests confirmed presence of chromium 6 in 14 pairs of shoes on Thursday.

According to the report, the test was conducted for a consumer TV show for the Italian-language Swiss broadcaster, RSI. The show was set to be aired on Friday.

As many as 21 pairs of shoes were collected from shoe retailers Ticino.

The tests for RSI’s “Patti chiari” programme came following a French-language TV consumer programme broadcast in Switzerland last month raising concerns about the presence of chromium 6 in shoes and other leather goods produced in Bangladesh.

Chromium 6 is a toxic chemical byproduct of chromium, widely used to tan leather, said the report.

Experts told the Switzerland Edition of The Local the chemical can provoke allergies and chronic dermatitis.

Bata and Vögele said they withdrew the suspect models from their stores starting on Feb 13, the report said quoting ATS.

The retailers have ordered further tests and until definitive results are obtained the shoes will remain off the market.

Both shoe companies make a point on their websites of highlighting codes of ethics, including measures to ensure that footwear is produced in a safe manner with good working conditions for employees.

Earlier in Oct, 2012, New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a critical report about Bangladesh’s “toxic tanneries”.

Most of them are located in the city of Hazaribagh, home to 150 tanneries employing 8,000 to 12,000 people, including children as young as seven and eight, the HRW said in its report.

In peak periods up to 15,000 people can be employed in a highly polluting industry where employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals that cause skin diseases and other illnesses.

Chromium six when inhaled can cause lung cancer, while contact with the chemical can cause dermatitis and skin ulcers, HRW added.