The state of Seoul, the country’s capital, reported on May 28 that the children’s products sold by the Chinese-founded online shopping large Shein contained harmful substances that were hundreds of times above acceptable levels.
Shein, with its headquarters in Singapore, has become so popular all over the world in recent years, providing a wide range of fashionable clothing and accessories at astonishingly low rates.
In addition, this explosive expansion has prompted more investigation of its business methods and safety requirements, including in the European Union and South Korea, where Seoul officials have been conducting regular audits of products sold by systems like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress.
In the most recent round, they found that several of the eight Shein products, including children’s shoes, leather bags, and a belt, contain significant amounts of phthalates, which are used to soften plastics.
The city government reported that one pair of shoes had 428 times the maximum amount of phthalates, which was the highest level observed so far during the Seoul inspections, and three bags had amounts as high as 153 times the maximum, according to the city government.
Phthalates are frequently used to soften plastic, and they are found in a wide range of products, including toys, beauty products, and containers. However, they have been known for decades to cause hormone disruptions and have been linked to obesity, heart disease, some cancers and fertility problems.