Shein marks $15M for product testing; to open polyester recycling hub
A popular low-cost shopping app is strengthening its product safety and compliance protocols while preparing to launch innovative polyester recycling.
Chinese-founded and Singapore-based global on-demand fashion app Shein has built and implemented a multi-faceted product safety protocol designed to help ensure product compliance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as the company’s own product safety standards.
In 2025, Shein plans to invest more than $15 million into the system, which spans before, during and after the sale process. The company says it conducted more than 2 million product safety tests in 2024 using the system, in collaboration with third-party testing agencies such as Intertek, SGS, Bureau Veritas (BV) and TÜV.
Shein’s product safety testing system includes the following steps:
1. Standards and policies: Vendors are required to comply with applicable product safety laws and regulations in the countries it operates, as well as corporate controls and standards.
2. Documentation and certification review: Vendors are required to submit documentation for products from categories such as electronics, children's toys, children's products, baby products, cosmetics, medical devices, light industry products, personal protective equipment, and textiles with specific regulatory requirements for checks and manual reviews. Shein also provides compliance education and training for vendors.
3. Monitoring and testing: Product safety tests, including chemical tests, occur throughout the sales cycle, in collaboration with third-party testing agencies and laboratories.
4. Dynamic evaluations: Shein conducts dynamic evaluations of vendors based on multi-dimensional aspects such as the product testing pass rate and negative feedback rate. Once a vendor's performance is assessed to be non-compliant or in violation of company requirements, Shein will take measures such as removing the product listing, vendor point deductions, putting in place re-order restrictions, or termination of the partnership, depending on the severity of the case.
Upon learning of any claim against a product, Shein says it immediately removes the product as a precautionary measure while it conducts an investigation. Over the last year, the company says it has terminated its engagement with more than 260 sellers on its marketplace who did not meet compliance requirements.
"Ensuring that our customers can shop with peace of mind is paramount at Shein," said Leonard Lin, president of EMEA and global head of public affairs for Shein. "From design to delivery, we all work to protect our customers at every step of the process. We have continued to expand our rigorous testing efforts, working with some of the world's top global testing agencies, to ensure that our products meet the highest standards, and we continue to invest in enhancing our approach."
Shein focuses on polyester recycling
Shein has also developed a polyester recycling process that accepts a wider range of feedstock materials, including both pre- and post-consumer textile waste and PET bottles. Developed in partnership with Donghua University in Shanghai, this technology is also designed to improves the cost efficiency of recycled polyester.
The company is working with selected fiber manufacturers to scale up production, with the first facility set to begin large-scale operations in June 2025, targeting an annual production output of 3,000 metric tons of recycled polyester fibers.
Other notable corporate responsibility efforts from Shein include increasing its adoption of cool transfer denim printing, a technology that consumes less water and energy compared to traditional denim manufacturing methods while simplifying the production process.
[READ MORE: Shein saves water with digital denim printing]