Foto Paulo Nunes dos Santos/Bloomberg
According to Greenpeace circular economy expert Moritz Jaeger-Roszko, the company publicly promises to protect consumers, but the actual situation raises serious questions. He noted that the organization has already drawn the retailer’s attention to the problem of contaminated goods, but similar products continue to appear on sale.
Back in November 2025, Greenpeace sent Shein a notice about a number of products in which dangerous chemical compounds were found, FashionNetwork writes. At that time, the company removed the products from sale. However, a new study conducted by the Bremen Environmental Institute on behalf of Greenpeace in January 2026 showed that similar or nearly identical products are available to customers again.
According to the analysis, in 25 of the 31 articles of clothing tested, the concentration of some substances exceeded the permissible limits set by European legislation on chemical safety. In some cases, the exceedances were significant.
Environmentalists claim that the identified compounds may be associated with the risk of cancer, reproductive and developmental disorders in children, and weakening of the immune system.
Shein said it did not dispute the findings, but emphasized that it immediately removed all the products mentioned after being informed of the inspection. The retailer’s representative added that the company is conducting its own product testing and strengthening its quality control system.
According to the Shein representative, the incident showed the need for additional improvement of internal procedures related to the safety checks of goods.
