Hazardous substances found in children's products sold on AliExpress, Temu and Shein
The Trade Ministry found several children’s products that failed safety standards, from shoes with excessive phthalates to a toy that broke into sharp pieces.
A pair of shoes that contained phthalate plasticizers at levels beyond the safety limitSEOUL METROPOLITAN CITY
Some children's shoes, toys and hats sold through overseas online shopping platforms were found to contain hazardous substances or fail Korea's safety standards.
Five of 21 tested children's products purchased from online platforms AliExpress, Temu and Shein did not meet safety standards set by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, Seoul announced Tuesday.
Ahead of the summer season, the city commissioned the Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute and the Korea Conformity Laboratories to conduct the inspections to assess the safety of products purchased from overseas online platforms.
Children's shoes showed the most serious safety issues.
Two of the nine pairs of shoes tested contained phthalate plasticizers in the main material, decorative parts and leather insoles at levels up to 284.6 times higher than the safety limit set by the Trade Ministry. The ministry requires the combined concentration of seven phthalate plasticizer substances including Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, to remain at or below 0.1 percent.
Phthalate plasticizers are chemicals added to plastics to increase flexibility and are known to disrupt the endocrine system. Long-term exposure may affect reproductive function and cause skin irritation. DEHP is also classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 2B possible human carcinogen.
Shoes with small parts which do not meet the safety standards required by the Korea Apparel Testing & Research InstituteSEOUL METROPOLITAN CITY
Another pair of children's shoes contained eight small parts, even though such small components are prohibited in products intended for children younger than 36 months because they pose a choking hazard if swallowed.
Among the seven children's toys tested, one bubble toy failed the safety inspection.
During a drop test, a horn-shaped section of the toy, which resembles a unicorn's head, broke apart and produced sharp fragments that could cause punctures or other injuries.
A bubble toy that failed the safety inspectionSEOUL METROPOLITAN CITY
One of the three children's hats tested also failed to meet safety standards.
The outer fabric had a pH level of 8.2, exceeding the permitted range of 4.0 to 7.5. Textile products that are highly acidic or alkaline may cause skin irritation or allergic contact dermatitis.
Based on the findings, Seoul requested that the five noncompliant products be removed from sale on the platforms. It also urged consumers to carefully check product information and safety labels when purchasing products through overseas direct purchases.
"Consumers who experience problems or have complaints related to overseas online platforms should report them through the Seoul E-Commerce Center hotline or the 120 Dasan Call Center," a Seoul city official said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
