Slippers, Desk Mats... Harmful Substances Detected in Synthetic Resin and Synthetic Leather Products in Contact with Skin

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Harmful substances have been detected in some synthetic resin and synthetic leather products widely used in daily necessities and sports equipment.

On the 12th, the Korea Consumer Agency investigated 79 synthetic resin and synthetic leather products with high frequency of human contact and found that a significant number contained lead, cadmium, and phthalate-based plasticizers, indicating the need for efforts to reduce harmful substances.

When the Consumer Agency tested 15 adult synthetic resin slippers, 10 products (66.7%) were found to contain phthalate-based plasticizers exceeding safety standards by up to 445 times and lead exceeding standards by up to 11.5 times, rendering them non-compliant. Phthalate-based plasticizers are endocrine disruptors that can cause damage to the liver and kidneys and are known to affect reproductive functions such as reduced sperm count in men and infertility in women.

Among children's synthetic resin slippers, 2 out of 5 products (40.0%) contained phthalate-based plasticizers exceeding the common safety standards for children's products by up to 373 times and lead exceeding standards by 10.7 times.

In tests on 10 adult synthetic leather slippers for harmful substances, 8 products (80.0%) contained harmful substances including phthalate-based plasticizers at levels up to 24.98%, lead up to 16,380 mg/kg, and cadmium at 118 mg/kg.

Harmful substances were also detected in everyday items such as mouse pads, desk mats, and badminton racket handles. The Consumer Agency tested 49 synthetic resin products including mouse pads according to synthetic resin product safety standards and found that 21 products (42.9%) contained phthalate-based plasticizers up to 32.957%, cadmium up to 1,601 mg/kg, and lead up to 1,077 mg/kg.

Based on the investigation results, the Korea Consumer Agency plans to recommend the relevant businesses improve product safety levels and request related government agencies to strengthen management and supervision of safety and labeling for synthetic resin slippers, as well as review improvements to safety standards for leather and synthetic resin products.

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