State of Texas Sues Shein Alleging Toxic Fashion, ‘Poisoned’ Products and Consumer Data Risks

product side, Texas leans heavily on independent lab testing that allegedly found Shein items for newborns, expectant mothers, children and general consumers laced with hazardous chemicals and heavy metals at levels that in some cases “hundreds of times” exceed legal limits.

Independent Toxicology Allegedly Exceeds Limits for Fashion and Products The petition cites examples including a pair of shoes with 428 times the permitted level of phthalates, handbags at 153 times the legal threshold, and jackets with PFAS levels up to 3,300 times above allowable limits—substances linked to cancers, infertility, heart disease, obesity, and disruption of immune, reproductive, and hormone systems.

Texas also accuses Shein of pushing children’s apparel that fails basic U.S. safety rules, pointing to drawstring hoodies that create strangulation risks and children’s sleepwear that allegedly doesn’t meet flammability standards.

All of this, the State says, is wrapped in comfort messaging: Shein has publicly touted millions of product safety tests and a restricted-substances list, which Texas characterizes as marketing that “lulls consumers into a false sense of security” about quality and…