The ultra fast fashion giant Shein has been dominating the clothing market. Consumers seem to love cheap items, but do consumers fully understand what fast fashion companies’ clothes do to our bodies?
An average consumer usually buys clothes depending on the price, oftentimes ignoring the composition of the item and the process in which it was made. I don’t blame them – they’re not fashion nerds. However, understanding the composition and how an item is made will not only help you save more money, but also support your participation in protecting the environment.
Back in mid-August of 2024, South Korean officials released a report regarding the legal standards met by these products. About 144 of the products from Shein were flagged as failing the legal standard. Shoes from Shein were found to contain significantly high levels of phthalates − chemicals used to make plastics more flexible − with one pair of shoes containing 229 times above the legal limit.
“Phthalate-based plasticizers affect reproductive functions such as sperm count reduction, and can cause infertility and even premature birth,” an official from Seoul’s environmental health team told Agence France-Presse. “The chemical is classified as a human carcinogen by the International Cancer Institute, so special care should be taken to avoid long-term contact with the human body.”
Formaldehyde, a chemical frequently found in home construction materials, was also discovered in Shein’s caps at twice the permitted limit. Additionally, two bottles of nail polish from Shein contained dioxane—a potential human carcinogen linked to liver toxicity—at levels exceeding the allowed threshold by over 3.6 times, along with methanol concentrations at 1.4 times above the safe limit.
Shein told Le Monde that they “work closely with international third-party testing agencies… to regularly carry out risk-based sampling tests to ensure that products provided by suppliers meet Shein’s product safety standards.” Based on the harmful and illegal chemical concentration found in their clothing, I personally believe that this is a lie.
During late August 2024, the fast fashion giant reported child labor in its supply chain. Though it seems like they were making an ethical move, the reality states the opposite.
According to The Guardian, the company came out with this statement as it tried to “gain backing for a potential 50 billion pounds UK stock market flotation.” In fact, the disclosure came after workers’ rights campaigners called for the government to oppose a possible listing of Shein on the London Stock Exchange; this was due to concerns about a lack of transparency about its supply chain and ethical questions. Furthermore, the British Fashion Council has also said that “The listing will be a significant concern to the industry.”
There is little chance that Shein is ever going to change, and the consumerism of their clothes will only create more harm for the community. Furthermore, wearing Shein’s garments can potentially harm the wearer’s body in the long run. It is best to buy less and save the environment, rather than buying conveniently from Shein.
