Temu and AliExpress are under fire with South Korea’s government…again.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said that, as part of regular procedure, it tested 26 items of children’s winter clothing from the two low-price e-commerce companies and rival Shein. Of those 26 pieces, authorities found seven contained higher amounts of toxins like lead, cadmium and phthalate plasticizers.
The government tested one Temu jacket that had 622 times the legal limit of phthalate plasticizers, 3.6 times the legal limit of lead and 3.4 times the legal limit of cadmium. Authorities also pointed out that a decorative add-on to the jacket exceeded the allowed length, a safety concern for young children.
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The other product from Temu that authorities flagged was a jumpsuit, which, according to the government, contained 294 times the legal limit for phthalate plasticizers.
Meanwhile, AliExpress caught flack for shoes containing about 5 times as much lead as is allowed in products in Korea.
The specific chemical found in the Temu jacket at an astronomic level, known as DEHP, which scientists at the U.S.’s National Institute of Health said is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
The government of California notes that DEHP “can cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.” Seoul officials have made similar statements about the chemical and other plastic-based phthalates.
Lead and cadmium, too, are harmful for humans. According to the World Health Organization, it is “particularly harmful to young children” and endangers humans’ livers, brains, kidneys and bones. The National Cancer Institute notes on its site that cadmium is known to cause cancer.
A Temu spokesperson said the company takes product safety seriously and uses quality control efforts like documentation verification, spot checks and “continuously monitoring the platform for potential issues.”
“Of the seven products mentioned in the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s recent report, two were sold on Temu. These products had already been removed from our platform through proactive monitoring before the report was issued. We require all merchants on our platform to meet strict safety standards and adhere to robust compliance measures,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the company signed an agreement with the Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) about safety measures. The spokesperson noted the company plans to “continue working closely with authorities to make sure our users can shop with confidence.”
Still, this is not Temu’s first infraction with the South Korean Government. Earlier this year, the government found that sandals sold on the platform had insoles with more than 11 times the legal limit of lead. It was also at the center of an August investigation that found carcinogens in products from the “Shop Like a Billionaire” platform, as well as rivals Shein and Alibaba.
The company also faces a slew of regulatory infractions in a variety of jurisdictions, including the U.S., the European Union, Indonesia, Vietnam and more. The accusations range from unsafe products, to forced labor violations, to consumer privacy-related issues.
The Alibaba Group, parent company of AliExpress, did not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment. However, an AliExpress spokesperson told Business Insider that the company “cooperated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s request to remove the affected items from sale immediately.”
