The Seoul metropolis authorities has requested on-line retail giants Temu and AliExpress to droop gross sales of sure youngsters’s merchandise over security issues, saying Friday that some items far exceeded native limits for hazardous substances.
Chinese language e-commerce titans like Shein, Temu and AliExpress have seen a surge in international reputation in recent times, drawing in shoppers with a variety of stylish, ultra-low-cost trend and equipment—positioning them as main rivals to U.S. large Amazon.
Their fast rise has triggered rising scrutiny over enterprise practices and product security, together with in South Korea.
The Seoul metropolis authorities stated Friday it not too long ago inspected 35 youngsters’s merchandise offered on Temu and AliExpress—together with umbrellas, raincoats and rain boots—and located that 11 failed to fulfill South Korea’s security requirements or contained hazardous substances above native limits.
In six of the umbrellas, phthalate-based plasticizers—chemical compounds used to make plastics extra versatile—had been discovered at ranges far exceeding security requirements, town stated in an announcement.
A few of these merchandise exceeded the home security restrict by as much as 443.5 instances for the chemical, whereas two objects had been discovered to comprise lead at ranges as much as 27.7 instances greater than the regionally acceptable degree.
Primarily based on the inspection outcomes, the Seoul authorities stated it “has requested that on-line platforms droop gross sales of the non-compliant merchandise”.
It additionally famous that “extended publicity to dangerous substances can have an effect on youngsters’s progress and well being”, and highlighted the necessity to fastidiously overview product info earlier than making purchases.
Temu and AliExpress didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark from AFP.
The Seoul authorities informed AFP the retailers don’t have any authorized obligations to adjust to their request.
Phthalate-based plasticizers may cause endocrine issues, whereas lead publicity above security limits can impair reproductive capabilities and enhance the danger of most cancers, Seoul authorities stated.
Final yr, town authorities stated girls’s equipment offered by Shein, AliExpress and Temu contained poisonous substances generally tons of of instances above acceptable ranges.
The European Union final yr added Shein to its checklist of digital corporations which are sufficiently big to come back beneath stricter security guidelines—together with measures to guard prospects from unsafe merchandise, particularly those who may very well be dangerous to minors.
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