Govt Bans Import Of Second-Hand Underwear

The Tanzanian government has banned the importing of second-hand underwear.

An official from the Tanzanian Bureau of Standards (TSB) said they were acting because of the possibility of users developing skin diseases."Standards are demand driven..there is a demand and that''s why we should come upwith standards for these garments," the director of the TSB, Daimon Mwakyembetold the BBC.

But market traders have expressed their unhappiness at the decision, sayingthere is no proof that imported clothes posed any risk. One Tanzanian trader in Dar es Salaam told the BBC that although imported pants,bras and socks are often in a bad state when traders receive them, they advisetheir customers to observe certain rules before wearing the garments. "The underwear would usually be in a poor state....the exporters tell us thatthe garments have been disinfected but we normally advise our customers to washthem in hot water before wearing them," said Ibrahim Jumanne.