New clothes that smell of paraffin

I purchased a blouse from an ebay seller and when it arrived it stank of smoke,I complained to the seller to be promised it came from a non-smoking household and to be fair the smell went when washed I was told that the grey plastic bag it was posted in was the cause and the material of the blouse absorbed the odour from the bag,apparently it is a well known problem in ebay land.

The smell is formaldehyde used to stop clothes imported in bulk in containers from going mouldy in transit. They are mostly produced by sweatshop labourers in the Far East and the Phillipines. I was in Asda once when I overheard two women saying how marvellously cheap kids clothes were there. " Yes" I butted in rudely, "but Asda is making huge profits on the backs of slave workers in Chinese factories." If looks could have killed...

Thanks POGS. Just caught up with your helpful reply!