Yeah, you read it right.
A Yahoo! UK story yesterday reports that China is recycling used condoms potentially laden with STD’s, including AIDS, into those colorful hair bands used daily by all yall who adorn yourself with luscoius, flowing locks…not to be confused, however, with hair bands of the 80’s, like Poison, Queen, or Cindarella.
Though those hair bands probably had their fair share of STD’s as well…
China Daily newspaper says these “recycled” hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province.
(And yes, I’m trying desperately to avoid a crude joke regarding the irony of those city/provincial names, given the topic of this post.)
The paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, [*further attempts at restraint…*] as saying,
“People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns.”
The aforementioned Yahoo! UK story says,
“China’s manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.”
Obviously, as you can see, not all recycling is necessarily a good thing…
Talk About It
What are some of the wierdest ideas you’ve heard or products you’ve seen that have been recycled or reused from another product?
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I’m here.
