“PFOA-free” again: Environmental group sues Shein at Berlin Regional Court
Shein allegedly used the claim again despite a cease-and-desist pledge. Environmental Action Germany also reports PFAS limits exceeded in three quarters of textiles it tested.
Symbolic image · Photo: Photo: Andreas Praefcke / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) has filed a lawsuit against online retailer Shein at the Berlin Regional Court. The defendant is Dublin-based Infinite Styles Ecommerce Co., Ltd., which is responsible for Shein's German online shop. According to the DUH on 20 October, the company again advertised a frying pan as “PFOA-free”, although it had pledged in a cease-and-desist declaration in February 2026 to stop doing so. After a further warning, Shein gave a second penalty-backed declaration, but did not pay the contractual penalty demanded, the DUH says.
The organisation considers the claim misleading: PFOA has been banned in the EU for years, so the advertising presents a legal minimum standard as a special advantage. It could also create the impression that the pan is free of so-called forever chemicals. Many non-stick coatings, however, are made of PTFE, which also belongs to the PFAS group. According to the DUH, a “PFOA-free” claim therefore says nothing about whether a product is free of PFAS overall.
Separately from the pan dispute, the DUH points to its own laboratory tests of Shein products: three quarters of the textiles tested for PFAS exceeded the applicable EU limits. “With Shein, it is not just about misleading advertising promises,” said DUH textile expert Viola Wohlgemuth. “One hooded jacket for teenagers was even more than 12,000 times over the limit.” The DUH is calling for stricter checks on online imports, a comprehensive PFAS ban for consumer products and a textile law from Environment Minister Carsten Schneider. The reports contain no statement from Shein.