Kolon’s jackets contain carcinogenic chemicals

Kolon Industries, the nation’s leading textile and chemical materials producer, plans to recall one of its outdoor jacket brands after it was found to contain an excessive level of a cancer-causing material, a consumer rights group said yesterday.

According to Consumers Korea, Kolon’s “Active” outdoor jackets were found to contain p-aminoazobenzene far exceeding the permissible level.

The material is believed to be a carcinogen.

“We conducted a safety and quality evaluation on 12 outdoor jackets of nine different brands and found that the inside lining of Kolon’s Active jackets contained about 20 times more of the chemical than the permitted level,” it said in an e-mailed report.

The consumer rights group said that it asked for an immediate recall of the products early this month, and Kolon pledged to take action.

An official of the group said the delay in enforcing the recall was due to the company’s own evaluation to confirm the findings.

“The company will likely start recalling the products immediately,” she added. Korea’s market for outdoor clothes - mostly for mountain climbing, sports and others - has been growing fast with increased interest among health-conscious people in diverse leisure activities.

According to industry experts, sales of such outdoor clothing already exceed 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion).

Yonhap