Fast-fashion brand Shein increasing safety after EU warning

A page from the Shein website is shown in this photo, in New York, Friday, June 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Fast-fashion retailer Shein on Thursday said it would increase its testing of products this year, after the European Union warned of fines if it does not address the bloc’s concerns about unsafe and dangerous products sold on its site.

Shein said it targets 2.5 million product safety and quality tests in 2025, up from two million last year, and said it would spend US$15 million on compliance initiatives this year.

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Shein, which sells its own-branded clothes in 150 countries, also operates a marketplace for sellers of toys, gadgets, and homeware sent directly from factories mostly in China to shoppers around the world.

Since it launched its marketplace, Shein has stopped working with more than 540 sellers over compliance breaches, the company said.

The EU’s Consumer Protection Co-operation network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission on Monday notified Shein of practices that infringe EU consumer law, giving the company a month to reply.

Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Saad Sayeed, Reuters