The German media outlet Öko-test chose an analysis sample that would be as cross-sectional as possible, however infinitesimal compared to the sheer volume of products offered by the Chinese e-commerce company. It ordered more than twenty of Shein’s products online, including clothing and accessories for men, women and children, and then subjected them to laboratory analysis. As Corriere della Sera reports, the results are inclement: only one-third of the products were found to meet safety standards, while in the others, the investigations found toxic substances.
What’s on Shein’s products
There have always been suspicion regarding the safety (social and environmental, as well as health) performances of Chinese instant-fashion garments. Öko-test’s work seems to confirm that this is no mere prejudice. Wired summarizes in great detail that a dress for babies released antimony (residues of which can be absorbed by the skin and prove toxic once they enter the bloodstream) in a solution that simulates sweat. While in a pair of women’s sandals they identified phthalates (which can have nefarious consequences on female fertility and fetal health) in amounts exceeding 15 times ReACH limits.
Not the only blow
But this is not the only blow to the reliability of the Chinese instant fashion segment. It was in mid-August that authorities in South Korea tested 144 items from Shein, Temu, and AliExpress: “Many did not meet legal standards”, writes Le Monde. The amount of phthalates in a Shein shoe model, to stick to the footwear example, was 229 times higher than the limit imposed by Korean law. While in a pair of Temu sandals there was a concentration of lead 11 times the legal ceiling. “They work closely with international testing laboratories to perform regular sampling tests”, Shein told AFP news agency, “to ensure that the products meet safety standards”. Doubts about the validity of the process, however, remain.
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