alarm bells go off about Shein. A report of greenpeaceled by Greenpeace Germany, reveals that “ultrafast fashion brand Shein has a business model based on dangerous chemicals and environmental destruction”. Through a statement, the NGO has denounced that the clothing of the Chinese textile giant has toxic substances in 96% of its products. A conclusion that he has reached after acquiring more than forty pieces of clothing Shein in some of the countries in which it operates and analyze its chemical composition in an independent laboratory, as detailed in the document released.
Specifically, they acquired 42 articles from Shein websites in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland and five articles from a pop-up (which are established only several days) in Munich (Germany). The results, according to the report, «evidence the unconcern of the company for human health and the associated environmental risks».
The analysis show that «Shein breaches the environmental regulations marked by the European Union on chemical substances, thus endangering the health of consumers and the staff of the suppliers who manufacture the products»in addition to “pollute the planet”. The company, says Greenpeace, “is breaking the REACH regulation«.
In this sense, from the NGO, they emphasize that «Shein has copied the tax model by industry of fashion in such a way that, if a brand it takes a few three months since plan a garment until he takes her out marketthis company has shortened the process to so only three or seven daysahead of its closest competitor, Zara, which takes two to three weeks». «A top for five euros, leggings for six or a wedding dress for eight… These apparent bargains pollute the planet, enslave people and have toxic products»they reiterate.
5 products exceeded chemical concentration limits by more than 100%
Of the 47 products analyzedaccording to the report, found that seven contained dangerous chemicals that exceeded the established regulatory limits and that five exceeded the limits by 100% or morethat is, they exceed the maximum limit.
Also, a total of 15 articles presented worrying levels. The NGO talks about «Nickel in high-heeled boots, formaldehyde in the tutu of a dress for minors or nickel in a jacket or chrome, in other products». «Substances that persist in the environment, that is, they do not decompose, that bioaccumulate or that are present near unsafe levels»asserts greenpeace.
For all this, «greenpeace calls on the EU to enforce its laws on hazardous chemicals, which are a basic requirement to achieve a circular textile economy and the end of fast fashion, as set out in the EU’s own Textile Strategy”declares Celia Ojeda, NGO Biodiversity Officer.
Faced with these accusations, sources of Shein they clarify to the German newspaper Der Spiegelthat “the company takes the safety of its products very seriously”. “Suppliers must comply with standards, including the European REACH regulation. Last year, 300,000 chemical safety tests were carried out with testing agencies. If a product does not meet the standards, appropriate follow-up action is taken with the supplier of the product.”they explain to the German medium. “We can confirm that we have immediately removed the mentioned products awaiting the outcome of the investigation”assure from Shein.
In the last two years, especially since the start of the pandemic, Shein has been gaining weight and presence in western markets as one of the most used apps to buy clothes. Its use of gamification techniques to keep its users aware of the application and its effective communication campaign on social networks have caused its download statistics to multiply. However, the Chinese company has been constantly criticized due, among other accusations, to the lack of transparency.