Go ahead, strut those Hugo Boss shoes. Even if they're real, they might be just as mediocre as the fake ones or unknown domestic-brand shoes.

China's skepticism about international brands began blazing on December 29, along with many well-known shoes.

Renowned brands including Dolce&Gabbana and Hugo Boss saw some of their shoes burnt up in China due to serious quality problems.

The above-mentioned scenario took place in a garbage dump in suburban Hangzhou, capital city of southeast China's Zhejiang Province.

Those disqualified shoes were spotted during a sample quality inspection of imported shoes conducted by the Zhejiang Administration of Industry and Commerce (ZJAIC). The investigation result showed that out of 46 lots of imported leather shoes and sneakers inspected, 35 lots were rejected and only 24 percent were able to meet quality standards. The lots included more than 10 internationally recognized brands mostly priced at over 1,000 yuan per pair.

"Some faulty shoes bear serious hidden problems like splitting and potential distortion," said Zheng Yumin, Director of ZJAIC, who headed up the investigation. "Wearers may easily fall or encounter ankle sprains."

Zheng added, "Our investigation of foreign brands enhances one concept: The essence of globalization means fair play. In the future, we will supervise the foreign brands as we did before and report what we find out."

Even as Zheng's words were still fresh, foreign brands failed again on January 18 this year after the Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce conducted a similar quality inspection. The result showed that 25 of 59 samples of 40 well-known foreign brands had quality problems, including Zara, Chanel, Armani, Max Mara, Burberry and Mango, which were mostly sold for between 1,000 yuan and 60,000 yuan.

The sample investigation found out that the PH value of one silk Chanel dress sold at 17,100 yuan was much higher than the standard amount. An overly high PH value could cause skin diseases and make skin vulnerable to viruses. Some brands tested had an overabundance of formaldehyde, which could give rise to respiratory infection and skin inflammation.

A number of other clothes had problems with colors, which could fade and be passed onto the skin, and even cause health problems if catalyzed by bacteria.

Some other brands' identification was unclear, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish. Many clothes use English as their major language for instruction, which is unreadable for non-English speakers. Some other clothes didn't say anything about the product safety level and failed to mention the distribution agencies' name and address. The lack of those important details makes it hard for consumers to make a complaint and protect their rights.