"Öko-Test" warns against Shein clothes Cheap fashion from China contains toxins
Shein offers clothes at bargain prices. However, "Öko-Test" warns of harmful substances that are said to be contained in fast fashion from China. The result is alarming.
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- "Öko-Test", a German consumer magazine, has tested cheap fashion from Shein.
- The Chinese online retailer clearly fails: Only a third of the items tested made it to the "sufficient" label.
- Toxic pollutants were found in the garments, which can be harmful to health.
- The fashion also scored poorly in the material test.
The German consumer magazine "Öko-Test" took a close look at the ultra-fast fashion online retailer Shein. It tested 21 items of clothing, including women's, men's and children's fashion. The devastating verdict is shocking: two thirds of the items fail.
Shein has also gained a large customer base in Switzerland in recent years. According to Statista, the low-cost fashion retailer from China increased its turnover from 3.15 billion US dollars in 2019 to 32.5 billion US dollars in 2023.
Clothing for little money is in demand, fast-moving trends are fueling fast fashion and Shein attracts customers to its online store with low prices. As early as 2022, an investigation by Greenpeace Germany revealed that Chinese bargain fashion contains chemicals that are harmful to health.
This result is underlined by the "Öko-Test" - it found "critical chemicals above the limit value" in eight of the 21 products tested.
Baby clothes contain harmful toxins
The most worrying aspect: the testers found harmful chemicals in fashion for small children of all things, who often put their clothes in their mouths.
For example, the baby dress with unicorn appliqué contains antimony, a toxic substance that could enter the body through the skin and be harmful.
It was tested "whether the fashion ordered contains harmful substances, how much wear and tear it can withstand and under what conditions it was produced", summarizes "Öko-Test".
And it's not just fashion for small children that fails the test; products for adults also show worrying results. The worst values were achieved by two sandals, one for men and one for women.
Lead, a neurotoxin, and cadmium were found in the women's sandals with leo patterns that were tested. The latter can damage the kidneys or bones.
The men's sandals, which were examined more closely in the laboratory, also exceeded the value for carcinogenic substances - and contain phthalates.
Sufficient, inadequate or unsatisfactory
According to "Öko-Test", only a third made it to the "sufficient" label. The rest of the products tested failed the test and only made it to "inadequate" or "insufficient".
"Some of the polyester items felt so scarily cheap that none of us would have wanted to put them on voluntarily", say the authors of the "Öko-Test".
The shein garments also did not perform well in the endurance test. The aforementioned sandals for women broke after 14,000 steps and the men's sandals were already worn out after 5,700 simulated steps. If you put this in relation to the often recommended 10,000 steps per day, fast fashion really is the order of the day here.
When washing the cheap fashion, embellishments fell off or some items of clothing shrank. For example, the "outdoor cargo pants for men" were twice as small after three washes in the machine.
"We take the results of 'Öko-Test' seriously"
In addition to the laboratory test, a questionnaire was also sent to Shein. The questionnaire asked about fair pay, compliance with ILO core labor standards and the regulation of permitted chemicals in fabric production. There were no answers from Shein.
The Chinese ultra-fast fashion retailer only responded after the publication of the "Öko-Test". In response to a query from "Bild.de", it wrote : "We take the results of 'Öko-Test' seriously and, as a precautionary measure and in line with our own safety processes and protocols, are withdrawing from sale the products that 'Öko-Test' says do not meet the legal requirements and are carrying out further investigations."
