Trendsetters are warned to protect their eyes as many cheap colored contact lenses are recycled ones and come onto market without being sterilized in east China's Jiangsu Province.
The cosmetic lenses that can change one's eye color and iris pattern have gained great popularity among young Chinese since 2008. However, a seller, who declined to be named, said some sold at incredibly low prices are in fact used ones with false brand names, reported Yangtze Evening News yesterday.
The man said a seller can buy a pair of used lenses at 8 yuan (US$1.20) and resells them at more than 20 yuan.
The substandard lenses are difficult to identify after sellers package them in boxes printed in Japanese and Korean. The sellers also claim the big bargains are smuggled from these countries to boost business.
One shop owner, surnamed Miao, said his business is adversely affected as the falsely labeled lenses are usually sold at nearly one quarter of the market price and attract many bargain hunters.
However, substandard lens, without undergoing a strict sterilizing process, usually contain high bacteria counts and poor dye, which can result in permanent damage to the wearer's eye, said Wang Yun, secretary of Nanjing City's Optical Association.
