No formaldehyde has been detected in any of the garments tested by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said the initial program of purchasing a broad range of clothing on the Australian market and testing for residual formaldehyde content had been completed.
"The ACCC is pleased to report that formaldehyde was not detected in any of the garments submitted for testing. Clothing tested included infants', children's and adults' garments such as shorts, shirts, trousers, tops and nightwear."
"Additionally, the ACCC contacted a retailer following reports of adverse skin reactions to two products. These products also have been cleared of formaldehyde."
The ACCC commissioned testing of clothing by two recognised Australian testing authorities following concerns about the potential for clothing available in Australia to contain significant levels of formaldehyde.
These concerns were based on two earlier reported recalls of blankets with undesirable levels of residual formaldehyde, together with media reports of high levels of formaldehyde found in clothing in New Zealand. These NZ reports have since been discredited.
"The ACCC, in cooperation with State and Territory fair trading agencies and the NZ Ministry of Consumer Affairs, will continue to monitor this issue and will take swift action if inappropriate levels are detected," Mr Samuel said.
"It will also work with the Council of Textiles and Fashion Industries of Australia and the clothing industry more generally to help ensure that suppliers have appropriate testing arrangements and quality control systems in place to avoid any unacceptable levels of formaldehyde in garments.
"The ACCC is liaising with the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme on this issue. While consideration is being given to developing suitable mechanisms for determining and setting upper limits for formaldehyde in clothing and textiles supplied in Australia, the ACCC, having reviewed approaches taken in other countries, will adopt as its interim reference limits 30 parts per million (ppm) for infants' clothing or clothing specifically marketed as suitable for people with sensitive skin, 100 ppm for garments which contact the skin and 300 ppm for other garments or fabrics.
"If suppliers during quality testing find samples of clothing with formaldehyde levels above these limits, they should contact the ACCC to discuss appropriate remedial action to avoid any potential skin reactions for consumers who may be sensitive to relatively low levels of residual formaldehyde."
Available information indicates that washing clothing and textiles before use generally reduces the level of any residual formaldehyde significantly. Suppliers will therefore be encouraged to label garments and textiles with a 'wash before first use' recommendation where this may be appropriate.