Cancer-Causing Chemicals Found In Shein Products & How Our Bodies Are Now Full Of Plastics
South Korean authorities ran weekly inspections on products from e-commerce sites such as Shein and found high levels of toxic chemicals on children’s clothes and more.
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Surprise, surprise! South Korean government officials allegedly found high levels of toxic chemicals in some children’s shoes and accessories sold by Shein, a Chinese e-commerce platform.
So, the story was that Shein, headquartered in Singapore, has experienced explosive growth like its other Chinese “cousins” such as AliExpress and Temu due to their low prices.
This explosive growth triggered authorities in South Korea and the European Union to look closer into their business practices and safety standards.
Seoul authorities conducted weekly inspections of items sold on platforms like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress with worrying results.
The items sold on Shein, especially children’s shoes, leather bags and a belt, were found to contain high amounts of phthalates.
What is phthalates? Phthalates are chemical compounds used to make plastics more durable and flexible. Phthalates are plasticisers used with rubber to print images onto garments and shoes.
In the tests conducted by the authorities, a pair of shoes contained 428 times the permitted levels of phthalates. It’s the highest observed by the authorities so far. For comparison, the city government said three bags had amounts as high as 153 times the limit.
Phthalates are said to cause hormone disruptions and have been linked to obesity, heart disease, some forms of cancers, and fertility issues. This is a cause for concern because phthalates are also used in our cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, containers, and toys.
The inspections also found high amounts of lead in a leather belt, 1.78 times more lead than Korean regulations allow.
In early April this year, Seoul authorities conducted safety checks on 93 products from sites like Temu and AliExpress and found 43% contained dangerous chemicals.
Products have been removed from affected sites
Seoul authorities have requested platforms to remove these products from sale and most of these companies have complied.
A Shein spokesperson told AFP that the flagged products have been removed from its site pending investigations and reiterates that it takes “product safety very seriously.”
The worry about microplastics in our bodies
As mentioned earlier, phthalates are found in plastic products and can make their way into our bodies in the form of microplastics through food and even air.
Wait, how does that even work? Microplastics are basically “larger” plastic products that have broken into tiny particles. Since plastic products are difficult to recycle, the microplastics end up in our oceans, air, and soil.
According to Open University, microplastics can find their way into soil through various ways such as irrigation with contaminated water, the decomposition of plastic mulch used in agriculture, and the usage of sewage sludge.
The microplastics are then “absorbed” by plant roots, soil organisms, and the broader ecosystem. This also means that the food we eat such as chicken, fish, fruits, and vegetables may have been contaminated by microplastics.
As for the microplastics floating in the air, they make their way into our bodies because we unknowingly breathe them in. Great…
How Plastic are we?
What does that mean? All this sounds like a tall tale but various studies have found microplastics in our organs and tissues.
Researchers found microplastics in kidney, liver, and brain tissues. The microplastics are also found in our blood and human testicles.
Cornell Chronicle said Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines top the global capita list of dietary uptakes of microplastics. Mmm, crunchy.
Meanwhile, a new study by Cornell researchers that maps microplastic uptake across 109 countries showed that China, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom top the list of countries that breathe the most microplastics.
What can Malaysia do about all this plastic around us? Up until 2020, former Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin instructed containers of illegally imported plastic waste to be returned to the countries of origin.
Malay Mail reported that the biggest exporter of illegal plastic waste to Malaysia was not Italy but the United Kingdom, France, the United States and Japan.
READ MORE: Malaysia’s Green Queen: How Did Yeo Bee Yin Do?
Can we avoid microplastics and toxic chemicals at all?
The only way to fully get rid of microplastics and other toxic chemicals in our lives will require global intervention and cooperation. It will require an overhaul in any business worldwide.
So, what we can currently do is reduce our contact with harmful substances as much as possible. Some of the suggestions from experts include:
- Always wash new clothes before wearing them to get rid of toxic chemical layers.
- Avoid buying from brands that are not transparent about their manufacturing processes.
- Avoid or reduce getting clothes or items labelled as stain, water, or odour-resistant.
- Be mindful of how we discard used plastic products so they do not make their way into our environment and back to us.
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