In a news release, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revealed they have launched an investigation into foreign-based online retail platforms that do business in the United States.
Both Shein and Temu were named specifically in the release, though it did say other unnamed sites were being looked at as well.
The CPSC said they received “reports that deadly baby and toddler products are easy to find on these platforms.”
In the release, the CPSC cited reporting that “thousands of Chinese factories and vendors have joined the supply chain for Shein and Temu, whose popularity has exploded in the U.S. with their offers of inexpensive made-in-China goods, from T-shirts and handbags to electronics and kitchen items.”
The investigation is focused on determining how those retailers reconcile the sale of foreign goods with requirements that those goods conform to U.S. safety standards.
“We seek to better understand these firms, particularly their focus on low-value direct-to-consumer – sometimes called de minimis – shipments and the enforcement challenges when firms with little or no U.S.
presence distribute consumer products through these platforms,” the release said.
The CPSC added that they believe this fact-finding investigation “will inform what further steps are needed to protect American consumers.”
You can read the full press release by clicking here.