The city government of Seoul has asked the online individual trade giants Temu and AliExpress to suspend the sales of certain children’s products due to security concerns, and said on Friday that some goods had far exceeded the local borders for dangerous substances.
Chinese e-commerce titans such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress have recorded an increase in global popularity in recent years and have drawn consumers with a variety of trendy, ultra-cost-low fashion and accessories and position them as important competitors for US giant AMAZONAs.
Their rapid increase has triggered the growing test on business practices and product safety, also in South Korea.
On Friday, the city administration of Seoul said that it recently inspected 35 children’s products that were sold on Temu and Aliexpress – including rain shields, raincoats and rain boots – and found that 11 South Korea’s security standards did not meet or contained dangerous substances beyond the local borders.
In six of the umbrellas, on Phthalat-based pluser chemicals, with which plastics were more flexible-in a level that the safety standards have far exceeded, the city said in a explanation.
Some of these products exceeded the domestic security limit by up to 443.5 times for chemical, while two objects lead in the amount of up to 27.7 -higher than the locally acceptable level.
Based on the inspection results, the Seoul government said that it “asked that online platforms expose the sales of the non-compliant products”.
It was also found that “a longer exposure to harmful substances can affect the growth and health of children” and underlined the need to carefully check product information before buying.
Temu and Aliexpress did not immediately respond to inquiries about comments from AFP.
The government of SEoul announced AFP that the retailers have no legal obligations to meet their request.
Guideline on phthalate -based plasticizers can cause endocrine disorders, while lead exposure over security limits can affect reproductive functions and increase the risk of cancer, according to Seoul.
Last year, the city government said that the women’s accessories sold by Shein, Aliexpress and Temu for women that contained toxic substances sometimes hundreds of times above the acceptable level.
Last year, the European Union added its list of digital companies that are large enough to get stricter safety rules – including measures to protect customers from unsafe products, especially for those that could be harmful to minors.
