An investigation into Sanlu Group Co, the company responsible for the milk powder and the largest milk powder producer in China, found that the milk powder had been "tainted" with Melamine, a nitrogen-rich chemical. The chemical, normally found in plastics and fertilizers, is not meant to be consumed but is sometimes mixed in with food by companies that want their products to appear more protein-rich since food tests for protein involve nitrogen tests. Melamine-contaminated ingredients that were sourced in China for use in pet food were the cause of kidney failures and kidney stones (the same symptom that has occurred in the children who drank the Sanlu Bei Bei Infant Powder) of thousands of pets in the United States last year.

Sanlu Group is partly owned by the New Zealand dairy export company, Fonterra Co-operative Group, Ltd. The company says that it "understand[s] the the product involved is only sold in China." Although the United States has a ban on infant formula from China, U.S. officials fear that the formula could have been brought in illegally and sold in ethnic food markets, and the officials warn against anyone consuming infant formula that is manufactured in China. Chinese officials also say that the problem formula was mostly sold in poor and remote regions of China at a lower cost.

China, for one, doesn't want to to waste any time getting to the bottom of the contaminated formula and the government promises "serious punishment" for the people responsible. China has also reported the case to the World Health Organization in hopes that some transparency of the issue will help international consumers become more comfortable with the quality control in China.

China Recalls Tainted Infant Formula [CBS News]
China Blame Milk Suppliers In Baby Health Scare [Reuters]

While gas prices climb higher and higher, the Times' Eric Wilson explains:

Clothing is one of the few categories in the federal Consumer Price Index in which overall prices have declined — about 10 percent — since 1998 (the cost of communication is another). That news may be of solace to anyone whose budget has been stretched just to drive to work or to stop at the supermarket; in fashion, at least, there are still deals to be had.

Of course, sometimes the "deals" come from manufacturers in China who move elsewhere (in China or out of the country) when their workers demand higher pay. Or maybe you wear Victoria's Secret underwear, made in Sri Lanka, by "skilled and educated" women working in a country torn by war, terrorism and racism. Or! Your "deal" could come from a company like Zara, which manufactures its clothing in La Coruña, Spain. "Because the company does its own manufacturing," Sherman explains, "The clothes reach the sales floor more quickly and efficiently, thus serving more consumers."

The truth is whether we're in a recession or not, all brands just want you to buy their stuff. You may not need it, but they need you to want it. So they're going to price accordingly. "We as a business cannot afford to have a customer take a second look and ask, ‘Do I need this?'" Bud Konheim, CEO of Nicole Miller tells the Times. "That is the kiss of death. We’re finished, because nobody really needs anything we make as a total industry."

Dress for Less and Less [NY Times]
Who Makes The Clothes On Your Back? [Forbes]
Lingerie And Terror [Economist]

Earlier: The Gap Is Dead; Long Live H&M. So Do You Buy More Or Less Regrettable Clothing Now?
Shocker: Not All Luxuries Are Created Equal

• Poor Marc Jacobs. First the world calls him crazy, now he's caught up in a bribery scandal. Turns out that the superintendent of NYC's 69th Regiment Armory, where Jacobs' shows are held each season, demanded little cash prezzies upwards of $30,000 from Marc et al in order for him to grant them permission to show there. KCD, the PR firm that handles Marc Jacobs, is allegedly responsible for making the pay-offs. [WWD]
  
• Meanwhile, Marc has invited K-Fed to sit front row at his show tomorrow night! [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Happy Birthday, Horrible Hagyness. [WWD, 5th item]
  
• Fashion Week is bad for Chloe Sevigny's self-esteem, "Fashion week makes me feel very self-critical. Like I'm not wearing the right thing or looking the right way. It's stressful." [WWD, 9th item]

• Samsonite creative director Quentin Mackay on why the company has tapped Chloe to collaborate on the design for the company's Black Label collection: "She has that vintage attitude. Her films are always off-the-cuff so it fits perfectly with the vintage modern feel. Design is always one step backwards, two steps forward." We think he meant that as a compliment, and yet... [Fashion Week Daily]
• What do male models do when they're no longer male models? Why, they do quickie sketches of fashion shows, of course. Former model Blue Logan (and yes, we keep reading that as Blue Lagoon, too) sits in the front row and draws the crowds and as many of the looks as he can while the show goes on. Also, he owns a night club. [Vogue UK]
• Ooh Amy Adams on the March cover of ELLE: Love. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Actress Lindsay Price on why she loves Cosmo: "My parents never taught us about the birds and the bees. They sat us down to watch Blue Lagoon and assumed that would be how we learned about sex, but Cosmo came to the rescue." [Fashion Week Daily]
• "I don't know anything cool that's going on!": Julia Restoin Roitfeld. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Seriously, how is "Would you change your style for a man?" even a legit question to ask? [FabSugar]
• Mazel Tov to Tommy Hilfiger on his engagement to girlfriend Dee Ocleppo. [Page Six]
• Also to Alex von Furstenberg (son of Diane), who is engaged to firmly-legal girlfriend Ali Kay. [Page Six]
• Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova will be starring in the live-action movie of G.I. Joe. [Page Six]
• First John Deere made tractors, now it's making jeans. [BrandWeek]
• What a shocker: Children's sweatshirts made in China have been shown to have a defective pullstring that has been known to strangle children. [UPI]
• Nicole Kidman's bathing suit: Now feeding entire impoverished villages. [NYT]

• A musical about the life and times of Clay Aiken and his obsessive fans is no longer bound for Broadway. [TMZ]
  
• Next time someone tells you you're rude for yawning at them, correct them and explain that you're actually empathizing. [News.com.au]
  
• Raise the legal drinking age in England? Fuck no! [BBC]
  
• New Jersey Buddhists have released animals bought in NYC's Chinatown into the wilds of New Jersey, hoping they reach their "karmic potential." Run, Thumper, run! [MSNBC]

• Dude, we just hate it when baby bibs are contaminated with lead, don't you? We aren't going to say it, but they're made in China. [CNN]
• What? The Bush administration is going to label another group of Arab / Middle Eastern folk terrorists? Shocking. [NYT]
• So many fantasies, coming true: Barack Obama. To appear on The Tyra Banks Show. Please God let Ms. J show up for that one to give our boy Barry O some runway stomping tips! [ABC News]
• Wow. Shocking. Another couple formed from The Bachelor call of their engagement. [People]