The entire workforce of 15 women at the Orient Crafts Factory in Gongzhuling, a city in Jilin Province were hospitalised after falling ill with chemical poisoning. The workers at the South Korean owned hat factory suffered nausea, vomiting, tiredness and twitching on 31 January.

All were later hospitalised and the workshop closed down. Details of the chemicals used in production remain unclear. According to a report by Xinhua, the average wage of the workers was 350 Yuan.