EU consumer authorities demand that SHEIN stops misleading consumers

Chinese e-commerce company SHEIN must put an end to its misleading practices and unfair competition. The company has one month to make adjustments to its website.

European consumer authorities and the European Commission are working closely together in the Consumer Protection Coordination (CPC) network. The goal of this collaboration is to ensure that both European companies and businesses from abroad play by the same set of rules that are designed to protect consumers.

European supervisors from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands have established that SHEIN is committing numerous violations of laws that protect European consumers.

For example, the e-commerce platform is pressuring consumers with fake discounts, misleading countdown times, and false scarcity claims. Also, the company lacks essential information about consumers’ statutory rights, makes misleading sustainability claims, and hides contact details to contact customer service.

As a result, consumers are being misled and are unable to make well-informed choices. In addition, it constitutes unfair competition for online stores that do comply with the rules, several European consumer authorities conclude.

“SHEIN is active in many European countries. Since it violates consumer protection laws in all of those countries, it is imperative that we take a collective stand against SHEIN’s practices. Together, we have to make sure that these violations stop. That will benefit consumers as well as online suppliers that do comply with the rules,” Martijn Ridderbos, Member of the Board of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), says in a statement.

“All companies reaching out to EU consumers must play by our rules. Today’s action sends a clear message: we will not shy away from holding e-commerce platforms to account, regardless of where they are based,” Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, responds.

SHEIN has been given one month to respond to the CPC network’s findings and to think of ways to correct the current practices. If SHEIN fails to address the concerns, national authorities can take enforcement measures to ensure compliance, including imposing fines based on SHEIN’s global annual turnover.

“Our priority remains ensuring that European consumers can have a safe, reliable, and enjoyable online shopping experience,” a SHEIN spokesperson told Reuters.