Clothes sold by fast-fashion giant Shein contain hazardous chemicals. So says Greenpeace.

Shein is the largest online-only retailer in the world, producing between 35,000 and 1,00,000 new garments a day.But these cheap clothes were found to contain chemicals at levels that breach EU regulatory limits.These chemicals threaten the health of consumers and ecosystems.

Chemicals released into air and wastewater throughout the supply chain pose a threat to human and ecosystem health. They also prevent clothes from being properly recycled - contributing to the vast global fashion waste problem. So a new top or jumper may not cost much but the environmental costs are huge.

This ultra-cheap model not only contributes to planetary warming but harms workers down the supply chain.At its core, the linear business model of fast fashion is totally incompatible with a climate-friendly future – but the emergence of ultra fast fashion is further accelerating the climate and environmental catastrophe. The fashion industry is responsible for more than ten per cent of carbon emissions and consumes approximately 100 million tons of oil a year. Every second, a truckload of textiles ends up in landfill or is incinerated.But despite the urgent need to decarbonise, demand for cheap items isn’t slowing.

The average consumer throws away 60 per cent of new clothes in the same year they were bought.