The Asian sites Shein and Temu sell USB chargers and, sometimes, dangerous toys, according to an investigation by four consumer protection associations in Europe, including UFC-Que Choisir, published this Thursday.
UFC-Que Choisir and three other Danish, Belgian and German associations bought 27 chargers on Temu, 27 on Shein and as many toys on each of the two platforms, “completely at random”, but each time sold “by third-party sellers and not by the platforms themselves.”
UFC-Que Choisir then verified the presence of the mandatory marks and subjected the purchased products “to a series of chemical, mechanical or electrical laboratory tests.” The association reports that of these 54 USB chargers purchased between 2 and 19 euros, 4 “had high and low voltage circuits too close to each other”, with the risk of “causing electric arcs” and 14 were heated “beyond the maximum authorized temperature of 87 degrees”.
“Many” of these “commodity products (…) posed real risks of burns, electric shocks and fires to their users,” writes UFC-Que Choisir. In particular, one charger heated up to 102 degrees.
Shein says it is implementing “a protocol” to remove dangerous products “from sale”
The association also denounces toys sold with a “manufacturing quality” that can “be catastrophic”, alleging that half of the 54 toys purchased on the two platforms had “small parts that come off too easily”, with the risk of being ingested. One toy had levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen, up to more than five times the level allowed in toy textiles.
All three battery-operated toys purchased had a “battery compartment” that opened “too easily,” again creating a risk for young children. The investigation does not detail for each incriminated product whether it was purchased from Temu or Shein.
Questioned by AFP, Shein stated that it had “immediately implemented its standard protocol to ensure that these products are recalled worldwide and taken off the market.” Temu’s site could not immediately react to AFP requests.
Thanks to their especially low prices, Shein and Temu have enjoyed resounding success in Europe in recent years, despite criticism of their business model and practices. The European Commission proposed in May to impose a tax of 2 euros on each “small” package worth less than 150 euros entering Europe, the vast majority of which comes from China, a measure also present in the French government’s draft budget for 2026 examined in the National Assembly.
Source: BFM TV
