Editor’s Note
This article discusses findings from German consumer watchdog Öko-Test, which detected hazardous chemicals in some clothing items sold by fast-fashion retailer Shein, particularly in children’s and teen products. Readers are advised to consider potential health implications when purchasing low-cost apparel.
Clothing at rock-bottom prices – that’s what Shein stands for. Öko-Test examined 21 products for chemicals and made findings, particularly in clothing for children and teenagers.
The online giant Shein is especially popular for its extremely cheap clothing. Öko-Test discovered health-hazardous chemicals in some of the tested products.
Almost anyone active on Instagram and TikTok has encountered advertisements from the brand Shein (pronounced in English: “She-in”). The direct-to-consumer retailer from China is flooding the global market with cheap ultra-fast fashion.
Öko-Test examined these fast bargains for its August issue. The conclusion: Two-thirds of all tested Shein items failed. The best grade in the entire test is “sufficient,” with the majority rated “poor” and “insufficient.”
The Öko-Test editorial team ordered 21 items from the online shop. The range spanned from baby shoes and teenage dresses to faux leather jackets for adults. Most felt “creepily cheap,” according to Öko-Test. The testers investigated whether the ordered fashion contained health-hazardous pollutants, how much wear and tear it could withstand, and under what conditions it was produced.
Eight of the 21 items were criticized by Öko-Test due to residues of toxic chemicals exceeding the editorial team’s defined downgrading criteria. These were primarily clothing for children and teenagers. Laboratory tests showed that toxic antimony migrated from a baby girl’s dress with a unicorn pattern into the simulated sweat solution. The dress was rated “poor.” According to Öko-Test, antimony residues can be absorbed through the skin via sweat and are highly toxic if they enter the bloodstream.
In a colorful teen tracksuit, the laboratory detected dimethylformamide, which, according to Öko-Test, is classified in the EU as potentially damaging to fertility. The verdict here was “insufficient.”
The highest concentration of toxins was found by the testers in two pairs of sandals. According to the laboratory report, they were full of health-hazardous chemicals, including some that Öko-Test thought had long disappeared from textile production. In the case of the women’s Leo sandals with footbeds, the measured levels exceeded the limits set by the EU chemicals regulation REACH multiple times. This was the case for lead, which is reportedly neurotoxic according to Öko-Test, and for cadmium. Cadmium can lead to kidney and bone damage with prolonged high-dose exposure.
Additionally, the laboratory detected prohibited phthalates at levels that, in the testers’ opinion, exceeded the not-too-strict REACH limit by 15 times. The phthalates found in the test are suspected of damaging reproductive organs and acting like a hormone. Furthermore, cancer-suspected naphthalene and dimethyltin chloride were found.
In the men’s sandals, the laboratory found, among other things, several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at levels up to 22 times above the REACH limit. In the material test, the soles of both shoes broke – for the women’s sandals after 14,000 simulated steps, for the men’s after just 5,700.
For three items, Öko-Test found upon unpacking that they should only be washed by hand. This instruction was not shown on the website. Moreover, for two of the three products, the care instruction “machine washable” had been explicitly indicated. Öko-Test editor Heike Baier criticized:
The company’s headquarters are in Singapore, but the fashion is produced in 5,000 Chinese factories. Öko-Test sent an extensive questionnaire for each individual product. The inquiries regarding, among other things, fair pay, compliance with ILO core labor standards, and the origin of the cotton used were not answered by the direct retailer. In terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Öko-Test therefore awarded the grade “insufficient” in this subcategory.
De.shein.com is the webshop of the Chinese fast-fashion provider Shein. Here, Öko-Test purchased 21 clothing items for different age groups: five for women and four each for men, teenagers, and babies. Additionally, they ordered one pair of shoes for each age group. The cheapest item cost 4.25 euros, the most expensive 31.99 euros.
Laboratories checked all products for aromatic amines from azo dyes – without finding any here – and for halogenated organic compounds. Furthermore, analyses were conducted for optical brighteners, PVC/PVDC/chlorinated compounds, and extractable heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, antimony, and lead.