Over 1,40,000 sweatshirts for children made in Pakistan have been recalled in the US due to a choking hazard. The sweatshirts were imported by Fred Meyer, of Portland, Oregon. These are cotton/poly blend fleece zipper hooded sweatshirts with a front zipper, two front pockets and knit ribbing around the wrists and waist.

These have been recalled prompted for a fear that the sweatshirt zipper pull can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. Consumers have been urged to immediately take the sweatshirt away from young children and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Pakistan’s major apparel export products to the US are men’s and boys’ knit shirts, cotton hosiery, men’s and boys’ cotton trousers.

The United States is a large market for Pakistan’s textile and clothing products. While products are well diversified, Pakistan’s exports to the US are overly reliant on cotton as the principal raw material. Over 90 per cent of Pakistan’s total textile exports are cotton based. In contrast products made from non-cotton based raw materials such as wool comprise only two per cent of exports to the US; man-made fiber based products constitute four per cent and silk and vegetable fiber based products comprise only 0.1 per cent.