The popular fast-fashion website SHEIN, which sells a wide variety of products at prices unmatched by traditional stores, recently began selling cosmetic products as well - including those which seem to be from popular and trusted cosmetics brands.
Recently, a number of social media influencers have noted how they have saved significant sums by ordering off SHEIN instead of buying the "same" item at a store.
However, items bought on SHEIN are not quality-tested and it is not clear if the site holds a license to market cosmetics.
Among the products listed on SHEIN are those bearing the names Estee Lauder, Yves Saint Laurent, NARS, Maybelline, Clinique, and others.
Estee Lauder Israel told Israel Hayom, "The global Estee Lauder company does not sell its products to the SHEIN website and in investigations we conducted we found that the products in question are imitations. Anyone who purchases on that site is endangering herself by using products which are imitations and for which the ingredients are not known. We always recommend ordering from a licensed local website, or from stores and other licensed websites."
In 2021, an investigation by Marketplace revealed that garments from Zaful, AliExpress and Shein contained elevated levels of harmful chemicals: Out of 38 samples of children's, adult's and maternity clothes and accessories, one in five items (20%) had elevated levels of chemicals, including lead, PFAS and phthalates.
In November 2022, a Greenpeace Germany report revealed that product tests on 47 SHEIN products found that seven of them (15%), contained hazardous chemicals in violation of European Union (EU) regulatory limits. Five of the products were in violation of the limits by 100% or more, while a total of 15 of the products (32%) contained hazardous chemicals at levels of concern.
SHEIN responded to the Greenpeace report, telling Just Style that the company takes such reports "very seriously," and that, "Shein is dedicated to always providing consumers with safe and reliable products." The company also said that it carries out chemical safety testing and requires its suppliers to comply with standards.
"Upon learning of any claim against our products, we immediately remove the product(s) from our site as a matter of caution whilst conducting our investigations. If non-compliance is verified, we will not hesitate to take appropriate follow-up action with the supplier of said product. We can also confirm, based on the information available through the social media account of Greenpeace, that we have immediately removed the products mentioned pending investigation," the SHEIN spokesperson told Just Style.
Israel National News - Arutz Sheva has reached out to SHEIN for comment and will update this article if comment is received.