Refurbished Sanitary Napkins Exposed; Well-Known Brands Respond Immediately

English Translation (Official News Style)

Beijing, March 16 (China News Service) – Reporter Zuo Yuqing reported that on March 15, an investigation exposed that defective materials from well-known brands of sanitary napkins and baby diapers were being refurbished and resold, triggering widespread public concern.

Refurbished and Resold Defective Materials from Famous Brands

Liangshan Xixi Paper Products Co., Ltd., based in Liangshan County, Jining City, purchases substandard products from legitimate companies that should have been destroyed. It then sorts out “second-class products” that remain intact in shape and free of obvious stains or damage, refurbishes them, and resells them on the market.

The company’s owner claimed that “all listed companies in the domestic market are connected to my business”, stating that he had established internal connections with manufacturers to buy defective products, leftover scraps and other production waste from diaper and sanitary napkin factories.

The production waste and refurbished defective materials found on-site involved products from well-known brands including Haozhi, Miffy, Babycare, Freedom Point, Purcotton, Sofy, among others.

China News Service noted that Baiya Co., Ltd., the parent company of Freedom Point and Haozhi, and Winner Medical, the parent company of Purcotton, are both listed companies.

Babycare (Hangzhou Baibeike Industrial Co., Ltd.) has started its IPO process.

Unicharm, the parent company of the Sofy brand, is a listed company in Japan.

On the evening of the exposure, the Market Supervision Administration of Liangshan County, Jining City, told China News Service that it had dispatched personnel to the scene for investigation together with the local public security bureau.

Freedom Point, Sofy, Purcotton and other brands respond overnight

As soon as the “refurbished sanitary napkins” scandal was exposed, a large number of netizens flooded into the brands’ live broadcast rooms and official Weibo accounts, questioning whether the companies disposed of defective materials through illegal channels.

In response, many well-known brands issued urgent statements.

Freedom Point issued an apology, stating that it had set up a special investigation team for a full probe and reported the case to the public security authorities immediately.

It vowed to thoroughly investigate the illegal recycling of defective materials, strictly standardize waste disposal procedures, and ensure all defective products are destroyed in accordance with industry standards.

Hangzhou Qianzhiya Sanitary Products Co., Ltd., the authorized licensee of Miffy baby diapers in the Chinese mainland, issued a statement saying it has zero tolerance for “the illegal recycling, refurbishment and sale of defective products”.

It immediately launched a full investigation under the guidance of relevant authorities and will cooperate with regulators to crack down on illegal activities.

Miffy China stated that the Miffy brand strictly requires authorized manufacturers to comply with national standards in production and product quality, and will supervise its licensees rigorously together with consumers.

Freedom Point issued an apology statement. Screenshot from Freedom Point’s official Weibo account.

However, some companies denied that defective materials had entered the market.

Purcotton stated in a statement that it has no cooperative relationship of any kind with Liangshan Xixi Paper Products Co., Ltd.

Purcotton has never provided any authorization or supply to the company, whose conduct has seriously violated national laws and regulations.

Purcotton will actively cooperate with regulatory authorities to pursue legal liability.

Sofy similarly denied any business cooperation with the involved company in its statement, noting that defective products generated during production are 100% crushed and disposed of in a closed loop, and defective items will never enter the market.

It emphasized:

“The Sofy packaging shown in the ‘3·15’ Gala has not been used by our company since 2022. Products in this packaging are currently not produced by us.

We will fully cooperate with regulatory authorities to crack down on counterfeit and shoddy products.”

Babycare told the media that the company attaches great importance to the situation.

“In accordance with the company’s quality management regulations, all unqualified products must be strictly destroyed.

The Babycare diapers involved in the ‘3·15’ Gala are likely counterfeit products. We will investigate and take legal action.”

In addition, brands including Whisper and Seven Dimensions issued statements saying that the exposure by the “3·15” Gala does not involve their brands at all.

The brands strictly crush and destroy defective products, and the involved company has no cooperative relationship with them.