Why 9 out of 10 online purchases from China are unsafe, unhealthy or harmful

Behind each of these cheap packages, however, lies a hidden cost: a large proportion, 85 to 95%, turns out not to meet European product standards, directly endangering our health and living environment. These purchases are part of a system that fuels boundless consumption, while enforcement structurally falls short due to the enormous volume of packages.

So the products may seem cheap, but the real costs for safety, sustainability, and health are much greater. In this article, we explain why that price is higher than the price tag suggests.

Platforms entice consumers into purchases

Platforms offer cheap products en masse and actively encourage consumers to overconsume. Through so-called 'dark patterns', consumers are bombarded with manipulative notifications to eliminate doubts and stimulate impulse buying, such as:

• Scarcity alerts (such as a warning that only a few items are left)

• Activity alerts (such as the number of people who have recently viewed a product)

• Giveaways (such as a spinning wheel with discounts or free products)

• Limited-time offers (such as a clock counting down to the end of a deal)

The consumer is enticed with extremely low prices, but has no opportunity to take a critical look at what they are actually buying: products that ignore European safety standards. In this way, consumers unwittingly bring risky products into their living rooms.

Unsafe products as a result

Under the EU General Product Safety Directive, it is established that products on the EU market must be and remain safe, even if no specific regulation exists for the product category. When a product does not comply, it must be reported on Safety Gate: a rapid alert system that helps countries share information about dangerous products with each other. The number of notifications on this system grew to 4,617 notifications in 2025. This is a doubling compared to 2022.

Take electronic devices, for example: one of the three product groups most frequently reported. Products such as chargers or electric heaters pose a hazard due to short-circuiting or overheating, for instance. In the Netherlands, fire and burns are among the most common notifications.

Clothing also poses a significant risk. Ultra-fast fashion platforms, such as SHEIN, sell many items containing hazardous chemicals that exceed EU limits and therefore may not be sold. In 2025, 53% of all Safety Gate notifications were related to chemicals. Warnings to companies about these risks are regularly ignored, as seen here and here, and (nearly) identical products simply reappear on the platforms. The throwaway model of this low-quality textile accelerates the damage: due to their short lifespan, the toxic substances end up very quickly in the waste mountain or our environment, while the depletion of raw materials to fuel overproduction continues.

Although this is not an unfamiliar problem, and the European Union has already tried to take action, imports continue. The reason for this has everything to do with what happens at the border.

Massive imports, minimal control

The explosive growth of e-commerce makes effective control virtually impossible. Only 1 in 12,471 products at the EU border is inspected. In the Netherlands,

the second-largest importer in the EU, the number of customs declarations for e-commerce shipments (packages under €150 delivered directly to the consumer from outside the EU) has risen to 1.094 billion per year.

But the scale of the number of packages is not the only problem. Regulations are becoming increasingly complex, and companies are cleverly exploiting this. For example, sellers from outside the EU are required to designate a legal representative within the EU. However, in 85% of the investigated e-commerce products, this contact person is missing, making enforcement in cases such as product recalls virtually impossible. Under chemicals legislation, due to direct delivery from outside the EU, the consumer even becomes the 'importer' themselves. The responsibility for the product is thereby completely shuffled off onto the, often young, consumer.

The result is a system in which companies maintain their profit model via e-commerce platforms in both an uncontrolled and irresponsible manner. Change is necessary.

What needs to change?

Market surveillance authorities are working on improved cooperation and digital enforcement across the EU. Concrete steps include:

The Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been in force since 17 February 2024, should ensure more harmonious rules in all member states.

The Union Customs Code (UCC) reform, part of the EU Customs Reform, proposes that the de-minimis exemption, whereby sellers outside the EU do not have to pay import duties on shipments under €150, be abolished. This reform is expected to be introduced in 2028.

As an interim solution, under pressure from European industry, a flat interim tariff of €3 per item will already be introduced from 1 July 2026.

These are steps in the right direction, but not enough. As long as the scale of e-commerce continues to grow, cooperation alone falls short. Especially when e-commerce platforms simply ignore the rules without consequences. Binding rules are necessary, but the interim tariff also fails to address the core problem.

As long as the demand for cheap products is fueled and enforcement proves impossible, the system will keep feeding this influx. Consuming differently is necessary, but that requires regulation that actively discourages overconsumption and holds companies accountable. Without far-reaching systemic change, the hidden price of cheap online purchases will continue to be paid by the environment and the health of the consumer.