The grim results of a major Temu and Shein product safety probe: dangerous baby toys, fire-hazard chargers, carcinogenic jewellery

Western European countries joined forces to expose the startling truth: you could be ordering seriously dangerous items via the Chinese platforms Shein and Temu. Shein has since responded to the findings. The consumer protection agencies from four countries conducted the investigation, which confirms that while online marketplaces are convenient and popular, shoppers must exercise extreme caution, especially when buying from sellers outside the EU through these platforms.

Products were independently lab tested

Consumer organisations from Germany, France, Belgium, and Denmark ordered a total of 162 products worth EUR 690 from Temu and Shein, split across three categories: jewellery, baby toys, and USB chargers. They ordered 54 items per category, with 27 from each platform, ensuring a robust sample size for the study.

Once the products arrived, they were sent to laboratories to assess compliance with European safety standards. The verdict was stark: about 70% failed these tests.

The findings were reported by azenpenzem.hu, based on data from the Association of Conscious Consumers (Tudatos Vásárlók Egyesülete). The results are disheartening: 112 products failed to meet mandatory safety requirements.

• Budapest’s new hard discount store Basket Plusz wows shoppers with unbeatable prices

Hazardous baby toys from Temu and Shein

The biggest risk with the baby toys was poorly indicated small parts that could easily detach, posing a severe choking hazard for children under three. One ball set was dangerously noisy, some toys contained formaldehyde at illegal levels, and several soft cloth items exceeded safe limits multiple times.

Almost all toys had faulty or missing labels, and many were misleadingly similar in appearance to safe equivalents sold locally, despite possessing far lower safety standards.

Fire-risk chargers

The USB chargers fared even worse: out of 54 tested, 52 failed to meet EU regulations. Problems ranged from overheating and inadequate insulation clearance to warping, breakage, and deceptive labelling. The Association of Conscious Consumers warns that while you can technically buy chargers from Temu and Shein, they pose a genuine fire risk and are a serious safety hazard.