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.
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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.
Carcinogenic jewellery
Jewellery showed a better record: 49 out of 54 passed the tests and complied with EU norms. However, five items contained alarmingly high levels of toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium and lead. Two Shein necklaces, for instance, exceeded the permissible cadmium limit by 8,500 times: a highly carcinogenic substance.
Beware of non-EU sellers and online marketplaces
The Association of Conscious Consumers advises vigilance with online marketplaces because “virtually anything can appear without checks.” Many shoppers mistakenly think they’re buying from a “European webstore,” but sellers and platform operators are often based outside the EU, making it very hard to hold anyone accountable if something goes wrong. They recommend avoiding non-EU online marketplaces for the product categories tested here.
Shein has responded to the article published by azenpenzem.hu yesterday. They say they cannot control sellers’ products but act immediately upon receiving complaints. Shein also commissioned their own tests, which showed that only half the products in these categories passed in a separate internationally accredited lab, confirming their own concerns.
Only official authorities’ complaints prompt action
The Western European consumer agencies also tested what happens if an individual buyer reports unsafe products: the response was generic template replies. When official authorities filed complaints, the product listings were removed. However, very similar or even identical items often remained available, sometimes even with the same images.
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