A WOMAN surnamed Yu was surprised to find that a rubber band she had purchased to tie up her hair had been made out of a used or sub-standard condom, Chinanews.com.cn reported.

The woman from Qingdao, Shandong Province, said the product was of acceptable quality, having good flexibility.

The Qingdao government has launched an investigation into two stalls in the city's market that were selling the goods.

State-appointed prophylactics manufacturer Qingdao Shuangdie Group confirmed that the rubber bands were made out of bits of used and abandoned or low-quality condom.

Engineer Zhang Fan of Qingdao Shuangdie Group said there was strict control over production of condoms. Only eight plants had been appointed to undertake such production.

State regulations required rejected materials and shoddy products to be broken down and sent to a plastics factory in Beijing, the engineer said.

The hawkers at the stalls claimed the rubber bands had been procured from Yiwu in Zhejiang Province.

An investigation in Yiwu carried out by Zhejiang Jinhua Quality Supervision Bureau found that several stalls were selling the condom-made rubber bands. But most vendors claimed to be unaware of the fact.

By looking at the package of rubber bands, bureau officials were able to track down the wholesalers, who turned out to be a couple operating out of Qinyang, Henan Province. (Star News)