First it was kids’ wear, then now women’s underclothes. South Korea has identified safety lapses in a popular online brand. In their pursuit of offering crazily cheap clothes, does Shein care about wearer safety?

In May, unsettling fashion news emerge from Seoul. According to the Yonhap News Agency, government safety inspectors in the city found “toxic substances up to 428 times the permitted levels… in children’s products sold by Shein”. Eight children’s merchandise—shoes, belts, and bags—from the world’s most popular e-commerce site were tested, and alarming toxicity levels were found in seven of them. The toxic chemicals found were formaldehyde at 1.2 times the allowable level and, shocking still, phthalate plasticizers (chemicals used in plastic goods) at up to 428 times what is permitted in Seoul (in the case of three leather bags, 153 times). To be certain, the authorities tested other cheap Chinese brands as well, such as Temu and AliExpress. But only results pertaining to Shein merchandise were reported by the Korean media.

And then a week ago, more products with toxic substances were found and Shein was again identified. This time, it was women’s underwear, specifically panties—one was discovered to contain allylamine in amounts that surpassed the permitted levels in Korea by 2.9 times. According to PubMed, allylamines are “a class of anti-fungal drugs”, but news reports pertaining to the Korean findings suggest that they are cancer-causing and are known to increase the risk of bladder cancer. It is unclear what allylamine is doing in Shein panties or what fabrics—or dyes—were used in the underpants’ manufacture. If allylamine is found in one style of panty, could others not gathered for the Korean test also be tainted?

According to Korea Times, for the latest roundup, 330 products sold on Shein, Temu, and AliExpress were examined in an investigation that lasted a month. Toxic additives and even “germs” were found in the makeup products sold on all three platforms. The reports did not state if these are potentially dangerous to users. Although Shein was not the only brand under investigation, what was found in their products generated more news than the other brands, possibly because Shein is the most well-known and is especially popular among influencers. The hyper-fast fashion brand is not known for their quality (during a visit to their pop-up here last April, we found many garments made of highly synthetic fabrics, with possibly complex chemical compositions). It is also not certain if Shein garments undergo safety testing before they are made available to the public. Cheap fashion, you’ll agree, must never take precedence over consumer health.

File photo: Chin Boh Kay for SOTD