Seoul gov't finds toxic heavy metals in Shein, AliExpress children's products

A children’s watch sold through a Chinese e-commerce platform contained concentrations of toxic substances 278 times above the permitted level.

A children's watch sold through Shein, a Chinese cross-border shopping website, contained lead 278 times above the safety standard. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

A children’s watch sold through a Chinese e-commerce platform contained concentrations of toxic substances 278 times above the permitted level.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Thursday that a children's watch and necklace sold on Chinese cross-border shopping platforms — Shein and AliExpress — contained toxic heavy metals. The two products were found to contain toxic substances among the seven children's products inspected this week, which included hairbands and bracelets.

The watch, sold through Shein, contained heavy metals such as lead and chromium. Its watch crown had lead 278 times above the permitted level while the back of the watch had chromium 3.4 times and nickel 4.4 times above the safety standard. A pendant on the problematic necklace also contained lead at 1.17 times the standard.

Exposure to high concentrations of lead can cause reproductive issues. For pregnant women, lead exposure can affect the fetus, increasing the likelihood of the child developing behavioral and learning problems, the city government said. The International Agency for Research on Cancer also classifies lead as a “possible human carcinogen.”

Exposure to chromium can cause nonallergic skin irritation, while exposure to nickel can result in allergic reactions such as red skin and itchy rashes.

A pendant necklace for children contained lead at 1.17 times above the standard, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's inspection. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The city government has been cracking down on harmful products on major Chinese cross-border shopping platforms and sharing lists of them since the last week of April. The list is available on the city government’s website. Consumers can also file reports to the Seoul Electronic Commerce Center or the 120 Dansan Call Center.

The metropolitan government plans to inspect children's leather products next week and food containers in June. The city government also promised to expand its inspections to other cross-border websites frequently used by domestic consumers.

Domestic consumers' cross-border purchases rose 28.3 percent on year, from 2022's 5.3 trillion won ($3.9 billion) to 6.8 trillion won last year. Nearly half of the purchases are from Chinese platforms. In February, the number of monthly active AliExpress users in Korea reached 8.18 million, making it the second-largest e-commerce company after Coupang.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]