Online retailers such as Temu and Shein are known for selling inexpensive products such as children’s clothing, kitchen gadgets and electronics. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants to know the true costs that foreign online retailers cut to sell these products at lower prices.
CPSC Commissioners Peter Feldman and Douglas Dziak issued a joint statement today urging their staff to evaluate the operations of foreign e-commerce sites. The statement cited Shein and Temu as two online retailers of “particular concern”.
Recent reports of “deadly baby and toddler products” being sold on these platforms have raised red flags at the CPSC. Final report Information Shein has found several baby and children’s products on sale that are considered dangerous, such as children’s lined hoodies listed as a choking risk by regulators. Fashion industry news site Fashion Dive Temu found children’s pajamas sold by brands that the CPSC ruled violated “flammability standards for children’s sleepwear.”
Shane’s spokesperson made a statement about this CNN The security of their customers remains their “top priority” and we are investing millions of dollars to strengthen our compliance programs. Meanwhile, a Temu spokesperson told us that they “require all vendors to be open [its] platform to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those related to product safety.” The spokesperson added: “Our interests are aligned with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in ensuring consumer protection and product safety, and we will cooperate fully with it. any investigation.”
The CSPC is not the first US government agency to investigate foreign e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu. last year, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission provided a brief detailing the challenges presented by “Chinese ‘fast fashion’ platforms”. The Commission questioned these platforms’ use of alleged trade loopholes and concerns about the sale of items that pose a product safety risk, infringe copyrights and trademarks, and use forced labor to produce and sell products.
Update, September 05, 2024, 12:19 PM ET: This story has been updated to add Temu’s testimony.
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