The most recent include the South Korea investigation in 2024, the Greenpeace findings in 2026 and the Texas Attorney General lawsuit in 2026. Nigerian women are largely unaware of all of these.
South Korean authorities found dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals sometimes hundreds of times above legal limits in products sold by SHEIN.
The toxic chemicals included phthalates, lead and formaldehyde, found in both children’s and adult products. SHEIN subsequently removed the affected items from their marketplace.
Greenpeace’s findings were equally alarming. Of 56 products tested, 18 contained hazardous chemicals above EU legal limits. Phthalates were found in 14 products, PFAS in 7, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium in 2, APEO in 1 and formaldehyde in 1.
In response, Greenpeace called for stricter regulations, including a ban on fast fashion advertising, a levy on high-volume low-quality production and enforcement of chemical safety standards for online retail platforms.
In February 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against SHEIN for selling toxic and unsafe products, deceptive marketing practices, data privacy risks and safety violations in children’s goods.
SHEIN strongly disputes all allegations and has stated its intention to defend its position in court. The lawsuit remains active as of April 2026.
Two Nigerian female shoppers, a cosmetic dermatologist and a general practitioner shared their perspectives on what these findings mean closer to home.
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Eunice is a 21-year-old nursing student who has shopped on SHEIN only once, purchasing clothes and phone pouches. She has neither worn nor washed the items and was completely unaware of the lawsuits. Despite her background in health, she says she feels indifferent until she researches further and confirms the claims for herself.
She believes many Nigerians may already be aware of similar concerns but simply care less. Even so, she says she would still shop on SHEIN.
Joan is a 26-year-old personal shopper who has been buying from SHEIN since 2022. She took a break in 2024 but resumed in 2025 and now purchases two to four times a month, drawn in by the price and the variety on offer. She buys female clothing both for herself and for her customers.
Joan was entirely unaware of the lawsuits and says neither she nor any of her customers have ever raised a complaint about the items she sources for them.
Eloho Precious is a 23-year-old entrepreneur who has been shopping on SHEIN for almost a year, ordering every month. Like Joan, she is attracted by the price and the variety. She mostly buys clothes and does not wash new items before wearing them.
She too had never heard of the lawsuits before being asked. Despite having no personal health complaints, she says she will be more careful going forward but she will not be stopping.
Dr Tobi Daniel, a cosmetic dermatologist, explains what these chemicals actually do to the skin. Phthalates irritate the skin and worsen eczema.
PFAS increases inflammation and skin sensitivity over time, Formaldehyde causes rashes, burning, dryness and allergic reactions, Heavy metals irritate the skin and damage overall health and Chemicals enter the body primarily through skin absorption particularly when heat, sweat and friction are involved and can also be inhaled from fabric.
Prolonged exposure can lead to contact dermatitis, dryness, eczema flare-ups, skin sensitivity and a weakened skin barrier and for those with darker skin tones, reactions may also result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, dark marks left behind after irritation clears.
Children are particularly vulnerable due to their thinner skin barrier, and pregnant women face additional risk as PFAS and heavy metals can cross the placenta. “The risk,” Dr Daniel notes, “is less about severe toxicity and more about repeated exposure leading to irritation in susceptible individuals.” In a country without regulation equivalent to EU chemical safety standards, that risk is compounded.
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Dr Muyiwa Olugbesan is a general practitioner specialising in family medicine with over 40 years of experience, based in Ibadan, Nigeria. He explains that health concerns from toxic chemical exposure vary depending on the specific chemicals involved and the duration of exposure.
They range from itching, rashes and allergic contact dermatitis to anaemia, kidney damage, neurological effects and hormonal dysfunction in women. He notes that whilst intensive history-taking can help identify clothing as a culprit in skin-related cases, more systemic effects are far harder to connect to what a patient wears. “It is not typical to link kidney damage in a patient to what they wear,” he says. “That would be far-fetched.”
He adds that Nigerian patients generally do not make the connection between their health and their clothing, with most concerns about imported garments limited to fears around second-hand items and skin disease rather than chemical exposure. On the question of regulation, he is direct: “Throwing the fast fashion market open to all comers without stringent industry controls will certainly not augur well for public health.”
Here is what no one wants to say out loud: Nigerian women are not going to stop buying from SHEIN. The price is right, the variety is endless and the lawsuits feel far away. But the chemicals inside those clothes are not going anywhere.
And until Nigeria introduces proper regulatory standards for imported clothing, the responsibility falls on every individual shopper.
As Dr Olugbesan advises: “Pay more attention to any health-related changes that occur in your body, not only your skin after trying a new brand of clothing. Especially if you start having symptoms that were previously not there.”
