A Chinese company allegedly purchased defective sanitary pads and diapers from well-known brands, repackaged and resold them, according to an annual consumer rights show on State broadcaster China Central Television on Saturday.

Liangshan Xixi Paper Products Co, based in Jining, Shandong province, allegedly acquired defective sanitary pads and diapers from brands including Sofy, PurCotton, Freemore, Miffy, Babycare, Zhongyi Baby, Makuku and Howdge, the show reported.

Industry standards require manufacturers of disposable hygiene products to shred defective products and production waste before disposal. However, the company's head allegedly bribed employees of the brand-name companies to sell him the defective items without the required shredding, according to the CCTV show.

The purchase price ranged from 260 to 1,400 yuan ($35 to $193) per metric ton. Some of the defects, if intact and free of obvious stains or damage, were selected, repackaged and sold unbranded for 7,000 to 8,000 yuan per ton, the show reported.

The remaining defective products were processed into raw materials such as wood pulp and super absorbent polymers, and resold to hygiene product manufacturers, according to CCTV.

China's national hygienic standard for disposable sanitary products explicitly prohibits the use of discarded sanitary products as raw or semi-finished materials, CCTV reported.

The Jining government has put together a joint investigation team, including market supervision, health and public security officials, to shut the company down and detain responsible parties. The investigation is ongoing, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Sofy denied any business cooperation with the paper company on its official Weibo account, stating that all of its defective products are destroyed and never enter the market. The company said the packaging shown on the program had not been in production since 2022. Sofy pledged to fully cooperate with regulatory authorities in combating counterfeit and defective products.

PurCotton also denied any ties with the paper company on Weibo, stating that it never authorized or supplied it with any goods.

Freemore issued a statement on Weibo condemning the illegal recycling, repackaging and sale of defective and counterfeit products. The company announced a special internal investigation team to investigate any illegal activity and said the results would be reported to the police.

lipeixuan@chinadaily.com.cn