The Seoul city government of South Korea announced today (28th) that in the latest round of inspections on products from Chinese e-commerce platform Shein, high levels of toxic chemicals have been found. Among them, one pair of children’s shoes exceeded the standard for phthalates by a shocking 428 times.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, Seoul city officials stated on Tuesday (May 28) that in the latest round of inspections, they conducted quality and safety tests on 8 leather children’s products sold by Shein in the Korean market, including children’s shoes, leather bags, and belts, and found many containing high levels of phthalates, a type of toxic chemical.
Out of the inspected products, 7 of them were found to contain toxic chemicals. One of the 4 children’s bags exceeded the formaldehyde limit by 1.2 times, while the other 3 exceeded the limit for phthalates by up to 153 times. Additionally, 2 children’s shoes and 1 children’s belt exceeded the limits for phthalates, lead, and formaldehyde, with one pair of shoes exceeding the phthalate limit by 428 times.
Since early April, Seoul authorities have been conducting weekly tests on products sold on platforms such as Shein, Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo’s brand Temu, and Alibaba’s global platform AliExpress. So far, seven safety tests have been carried out.
Seoul city official Park Sang-jin told Agence France-Presse that Seoul has requested Chinese e-commerce platforms to stop selling the implicated products and restrict public purchasing. Up to now, they have inspected 93 products, with about 40 (43% of the total) found to contain toxic substances, including children’s watches and colored pencils.
Phthalates are widely used to soften plastics and can be found in thousands of products such as containers, beauty products, and toys. It is known to cause hormonal imbalances, leading to obesity, heart disease, some cancers, and reproductive issues.
Since Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms like Shein, AliExpress, and Temu entered the Korean market, they have rapidly increased their Korean membership through strategies like selling at ultra-low prices, large-scale discount wars, new member activities, and cash voucher incentives. However, as discovered by Korean customs, the presence of health-threatening substances in cheap Chinese products has raised concerns.