Warns about toys and chargers

- Temu and Shein obviously do not have sufficient control over what is sold on the platforms. This is particularly serious when it comes to electronic products, which can lead to serious harm, says acting director Gunstein Instefjord at the Consumer Council.

In a press release from the Consumer Council, there is a warning about toys and chargers from Temu and Shein, and it is mentioned that almost none of the tested chargers meet the requirements.

See Temu's comment at the bottom.

- The most serious problems with the tested chargers are overheating and risk of electric shock. 5 of the 27 Temu chargers had serious deficiencies, the same applied to 12 of the 27 Shein chargers. It was also revealed that several chargers cannot withstand normal use, and that the products were not sufficiently labelled, according to the Consumer Council.

European test network

Reference is made to a study conducted by the European test network ICRT, of which the Consumer Council is a member. Here, 162 products were purchased from Temu and Shein. 110 of these products did not meet European safety requirements.

Among the 27 children's toys purchased from Shein, all toys were problematic according to European safety standards. For Temu, only one product met the requirements.

- It is not safe to buy toys either on Temu or Shein. Our clear recommendation is to make Christmas gift purchases elsewhere, especially if the toys are intended for the youngest children, says Instefjord.

Jewellery was also tested, and these fared somewhat better. None of the jewellery from Temu failed the safety test, but 5 of the jewellery items from Shein had too high a content of nickel or cadmium. One of the jewellery items contained as much as 8,500 times more cadmium than the permitted limit, writes Forbrukerrådet.

- The cadmium content in these jewellery items is far above the limit. These are not products you want in contact with the skin. It is also almost impossible to know which products are safe and which are not, says Gunstein Instefjord in the press release.

Test results

The products are tested according to the rules and requirements applicable to these product types on the European market. The USB chargers are tested for:

· Electrical safety such as overheating, sufficient separation between important components and similar. 

· Mechanical safety such as durability and damage from falls, twisting and similar. 

· Labelling and warnings such as CE marking and identification of electrical devices, products and similar. 

Results usb chargers from temu (27 products): 

· 5 products with electrical safety issues 

· 9 products with mechanical safety issues 

· 26 products with missing or misleading warnings and labelling

Results usb chargers from shein (27 products):

· 12 products with electrical safety issues 

· 12 products with mechanical safety issues

· 25 products with missing or misleading warnings and labelling  

Source: Forbrukerrådet

Temu responds

After we published the article, we received the following comment from temu's pr agency in the nordics (published 3 december at 11.01):

- Temu takes product safety very seriously. Regarding the current products, we have already taken immediate action by removing them from sale and warning the respective sellers. Temu has initiated a voluntary recall for products that have been confirmed to pose a high risk.

Temu has a comprehensive quality assurance system to prevent, detect, and remove products that do not meet the requirements. This includes physical inspections and cooperation with independent testing organisations to ensure that the products meet eu safety standards.

We are fully committed to offering a safe and reliable shopping experience for all customers and to maintaining full compliance with the EU's product safety regulations.