The "shocking'' conditions are disclosed in "ethical audits'' of factories that make the ultra-fashionable white wristbands for the Make Poverty History campaign, started by a coalition of more than 400 charities.

Bob Geldof, who recently confirmed a follow-up to the 1985 Live Aid concert - to coincide with the G8 summit in July - called for action.

``The charities should pull out of deals with those companies immediately or set a firm deadline for improvements,'' he said.

One senior official with a British charity accused Oxfam, Christian Aid and others of ``rank hypocrisy.''

``This is appalling. It goes against everything we stand for. If we are criticizing big companies for trading unethically, then we have to be whiter than white,'' he said.

Hundreds of thousands of wristbands, made in fabric or silicon, have been sold in Britain, with pop stars, footballers and politicians such as Tony Blair seen wearing them. They cost 1 (HK$14.22), of which 70 pence goes to charities. The audits show factories making the silicon versions fall woefully short of the ``ethical standards.''

A report on Tat Shing Rubber Manufacturing in Shenzhen, dated April 12, accuses it of using ``forced labor'' by taking ``financial deposits'' from new employees in violation of the law and the Ethical Trading Initiative set up to promote international standards for working conditions.

The audit uncovered a list of ``weaknesses,'' including poor health and safety provision, long hours, a seven-day week, workers cheated out of pay, inadequate insurance, no annual leave and no right to freedom of association.

An audit of Fuzhou Xing Chun Trade found workers paid at below the minimum hourly wage of 2.39 yuan (HK$2.25) and some as little as 1.39 yuan. Overtime was worked beyond the legal limit and not paid for properly, and there was no paid annual leave.

The audits have sparked a row.

Christian Aid, which has bought more than 500,000 wristbands from Tat Shing, claims that Oxfam failed to tell other charities that it had decided to stop ordering from the Shenzhen company.

Oxfam said it informed its coalition partners in January, but a spokesman said: ``We could have perhaps put it in writing to make it absolutely clear.''

It turned instead to the Fujian factory for 1.5 million wristbands but only, it said, after assurances that problems were being tackled.