A toy for your child. A USB charger. Earrings for a few euros. It seems like harmless stuff. But do you know where it comes from? The Consumers' Association recently tested products from SHEIN and TEMU, among others. What did it find out? Much of it is toxic or downright dangerous. And even if you don't buy there, you can still get it through Dutch webshops - you must have heard of dropshipping - or second-hand. What about that exactly? And what to do with that stuff?

Toxic stuff via China, dropshipping and the thrift store

Perhaps when you think of unsafe products, you immediately think of shady websites in faraway countries. And that is true: SHEIN, TEMU, AliExpress and Wish make it very easy to buy everything from toys and electronics to jewellery and make-up for a few euros. Nice and cheap, but that low price comes from somewhere, often at the expense of safety and quality. These shops are outside the European Union and therefore do not have to follow our rules. While strict laws apply here in Europe (such as the REACH regulation) that determine which substances are and are not allowed in products, manufacturers in China, for instance, can simply go about their business there. ‘But I don't buy from there’, you might think. Only... what if your order comes via a Dutch dropshipper, who has your package delivered straight from China - without ever checking what's in it? Or if you score it second-hand? That way, stuff might still end up in your home that isn't actually safe at all.

Toxic, dangerous, but nice and cheap

This is not scaremongering, but harsh reality. The Consumers' Association recently tested a range of products from SHEIN and TEMU, among others, and came to a shocking conclusion: 70% did not meet European safety standards. And 1 in 4 products was even found to be directly dangerous. These include toys with choking hazards, jewellery with carcinogenic or hormone-disrupting substances, and toys that make such a loud noise that they can cause hearing damage. They also found USB chargers that overheat and are therefore a fire hazard. And these are just the products they tested. International research shows that, for example, some nail polishes from these platforms contain 3.6 times too much dioxin (can cause liver poisoning) and shoes with plasticisers 229 times above the permitted amount. Surely you don't want that in your home, let alone on your child.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Don't panic: you really don't have to throw everything straight into the bin (although, do you have a suspicious toy or jewellery set lying around? Then throwing it away might not be a bad idea after all). Here are a few simple things you can do:

• From now on, check where a product comes from. Avoid stuff with no clear origin or from anonymous webshops.
• Pay attention to labels. No label or only vague English text? Chances are the product was made outside EU rules.
• Pay attention to the CE mark. This label shows that a product complies with European safety regulations. But beware: there is also a ‘fake CE’ that stands for China Export - with a logo that looks suspiciously similar. The difference is in the space between the letters.
• Prefer European brands or shops. They must comply with the rules.
• Wash new clothes or toys first. Harmful residues can partially disappear this way. We have written about toxic clothing from Chinese webshops before.
• In doubt about a product? The Consumers' Association recommends: hand in items with (potentially) toxic substances to the waste disposal site - not the ordinary rubbish.

Source: RVO.nl.

Buy less, choose better

A USB charger or toy may seem like a small thing. But if it is bursting with harmful substances or even a fire hazard, cheap quickly becomes expensive. Fortunately, you don't have to be an expert to make better choices. Just check where something comes from, look out for the (genuine) CE mark and choose products you know are compliant. Note that dropshippers can also operate on major sales platforms such as Bol.com or Amazon. Bol.com may be a Dutch company, but many products are delivered by external sellers - and that includes providers that ship directly from China. And do you have something in your house that is a bit suspect? Better get rid of it and go to the recycling centre than in the bin.

Source: Consumer Association, Pointer Checks, The Evening Show, South Korean research, central government.nl, nutrition centre.nl. Photo credits: Liza Summer (Pexels).