- Items with no apparent connection to protests, including colourful tops and ordinary eyeglasses, being stopped by mainland customs, shops complain
- One apparel company took the costly route of first shipping to Taiwan, then back to Hong Kong to keep customers happy
Hong Kong apparel and eyewear shops already crippled by more than seven months of social unrest say the number of items banned from entering the city by mainland China customs " once limited to gear associated with protesters " has quietly been expanding.
Apparel companies recently told the Post that lists of banned items had expanded to include everything from white tops and colourful hoodies to normal eyeglasses.
One manager for a Hong Kong-based firm that produces clothing for European luxury brands at a factory in Shenzhen, said single pieces of black fabric and tops featuring metal buckles or buttons had been stopped in recent months.
"I ordered a sample of A3-sized black fabric recently for a client in Europe, but the shipment to Hong Kong was stopped without explanation," said Daisy, who gave a pseudonym to protect her identity.
Her company has traditionally used SF Express, one of China's largest courier companies, to deliver 700 to 1,000 items of clothing each month from their Shenzhen factory to Hong Kong, before then exporting them onwards to Europe.
During months of political turmoil, the red line set by mainland Chinese customs' had varied according to the social situation, she said, with goods consistently subjected to a higher level of scrutiny in the wake of mass protests or incidents related to the anti-government movement.
"On some sensitive days, even white miniskirts were banned. I cannot get the logic of how it's related to the protests," she said.
Instead of attempting to move bulk orders of black clothing through the delivery giant, Daisy has developed a routine of travelling back and forth from the mainland factory to carry goods back to Hong Kong in small batches. "It's just like 'ants moving homes' as the Chinese saying goes," she said.
But to avoid having items deemed sensitive confiscated, she has limited herself to three dozen items at a time on cross-border trips. She recalled it once took about 10 days to have black-coloured items returned after they were held up by customs.
China bans exports of black clothing to Hong Kong amid protests
The peak shipping season ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday was a particular nightmare for her Hong Kong-based company, as many mainland factories close one to two weeks beforehand so workers can travel home for holidays that usually last another two weeks.
To pile up stock before workers in Shenzhen went on holiday, Daisy mobilised her family members and friends to drive to the mainland a couple of times a day to carry clothing back to the city.
"We spent hours on logistics but no time on handling other work at all," she complained.
Another Hong Kong seller, who founded an online sportswear shop in May last year, a month before protests broke out, said his business was crippled by the ban on hooded tops and dark-coloured clothing from a factory in Dongguan, though other items have been affected as well.
The seller, who wished to remain anonymous, said he recently placed an order with SF Express to ship a multicoloured windbreaker as a test. The courier's real-time tracking system showed that the windbreaker arrived in Hong Kong, only to be sent back to the mainland factory the same day, he said.
"(SF Express) did not give any explanation for this. I guess it's because the windbreaker belongs to hooded clothing, which mainland authorities may regard as outfits protesters can wear to prevent them from being identified," he said.
He recalled avoiding confiscation by mainland customs by asking the courier to first ship single black tops from the mainland factory to Taiwan, then arranging for a Taiwan-based courier to ship the goods to Hong Kong.
"The delivery took a whole week and cost double," he said. "But we chose not to abandon the order. We do not want to disappoint our clients."
The founder said mainland authorities had issued an internal notice to the factory in Dongguan, warning that "batches of sensitive items were delivered to Hong Kong by SF Express and other courier companies".
"If similar cases are found, concerned courier companies will face a top level of punishment," the authorities warned, without specifying the potential penalty.
For his online business, it has been a devastating blow.
"Unlike sizeable apparel companies, who can ship their clothing in containers to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam to evade the customs check, we cannot bear the costs of delivering items elsewhere before sending them back to Hong Kong," he said.
How China's ban of black clothing exports to Hong Kong is hitting one brand
To get around the restrictions, he abandoned the winter collections in the latter half of last year and invested mainly in summer sportswear with light-coloured clothing without hoods.
In addition to the apparel industry, a few eyewear companies have also reported bans on some of their products, months after safety goggles were first stopped from entering Hong Kong.
One eyewear designer, whose upmarket glasses are produced in a Guangzhou factory, said he had received two reports that dozens of their glasses had been stopped from entering Hong Kong in November and December, despite having observed proper declaration procedures.
"Officers verbally explained to our factory manager that glasses were sensitive, as they belong to the category of goggles," the designer, who gave his name as Alex to protect his identity, said. He added that the bans appeared to be temporary, as the same products were allowed through customs earlier this month.
SF Express, the Chinese courier giant, is popular in Hong Kong thanks to its extensive network of pickup spots and service centres. It is also the official logistics service provider of Taobao, the online shopping platform owned by Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.
The company did not give an official response to the Post about the bans.
Asked for a list of banned products and reasons for the restrictions, a customer services officer only replied through a messaging app that "deliveries have been normal except items prohibited or supervised under the law and regulations".
Similar bans have also been seen across other players in the courier sector including STO Express, YTO Express and 3speed Express.
A notice placed at the top of 3speed Express's Facebook page said Chinese customs "ramped up inspection of offensive items to Hong Kong" and required them to halt delivery of a list of products that included towels, drones, speakers, horticulture scissors, flashlights and binoculars.
Compared with its competitors, Taobao appeared more frank about its reasoning behind prohibiting the delivery of certain items, stating on its official website that items which "might harm China's politics, economics, culture and morality" are prohibited. It did not provide a list of the items that could be banned.
The Post has approached the customs department in Shenzhen for comment.
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