Toxic fashion: Shein clothes found dangerous for kids' wear

Eight out of twenty-one pieces of clothing from Shein contain traces of toxic chemicals, according to a test conducted by the German organisation Öko-Test. Among them were children's clothes. The Chinese e-commerce giant has decided to withdraw them from sale.

The study reveals that the tested clothes received a "satisfactory" rating at most. However, most were rated as "poor" or "unsatisfactory."

The German organisation Öko-Test commissioned an examination of twenty-one pieces of clothing from Shein. The results indicate that eight of them—including children's and baby clothes — contained traces of toxic substances.

For example, a girl's dress contains antimony, which can be absorbed through the skin and sweat. If it enters the bloodstream, it is highly toxic. Additionally, banned phthalates, dimethylformamide, lead, cadmium, naphthalene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected.

The Chinese platform responded to the test results reports. "Shein prioritises the safety and health of all our customers, we require our suppliers to comply with stringent controls and standards that are aligned to Europe’s REACH and other global standards, and we work with leading international third-party testing agencies, to carry out regular testing to ensure suppliers' compliance to these standards" the company stated.

"Upon learning of any claim against our products, we immediately remove the product(s) from our site as a matter of caution whilst conducting our investigations" - further emphasised Shein.

This is not the first time questionable-quality clothes have appeared on Shein. At the end of May 2024, the results of another study conducted by the consumer organisation Test Achats were revealed. It indicated that ten out of twenty-five pieces of clothing contained harmful substances. They were unfit for wearing and contact with children's skin.