Sandals in China found to cause early puberty and are toxic

Direct translation

Horrible! This kind of sandal in China can easily cause children to have early puberty and is also toxic

Reporter : Li Enzhen / Editor: Fan Ming / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2025/06/03/a103992599.html / Image : In recent years, children's sandals produced in many places in the mainland have been found to have serious excessive plasticizers. (Video screenshot)

Today (3 June 2025), the topic of "this kind of sandal in summer can easily cause children to have early puberty and is also toxic" has been on the hot search list, causing public concern. Everyone has questioned where the regulatory authorities have gone. Why can such toxic sandals be produced and sold on the market?

According to Upstream News, there are various styles of children's sandals on the market, such as crystal shoes, hole shoes, jelly shoes... but these beautiful sandals may have potential safety hazards. Due to different materials, if they are not distinguished when purchasing, it is very likely that "toxic" products will be purchased, causing harm to children's bodies.

According to the survey conducted by the "Non-Toxic Pioneer" of Shenzhen Zero Waste Environmental Protection Public Welfare Development Center, an environmental protection charity organization, 10 samples of the top ten sales were purchased from 5 e-commerce platforms and sent to qualified third-party testing agencies for testing. The survey results show that 25 of the 50 pairs of PVC children's sandals sampled exceeded the standard for phthalates, and the overall phthalate exceeding standard rate was 50%.

The average excess multiple of the 25 pairs of children's sandals with phthalates exceeding the standard was 365 times, and the highest excess multiple was 509 times. One of the samples with phthalates exceeding the standard by 496 times even sold more than 1 million pieces. In addition, the survey found that 20 of the 25 pairs of samples exceeding the standard were unlabeled products, accounting for 80%.

Phthalates are a cheap plasticizer that can enter the human body through skin contact, respiratory tract and other routes. Exceeding the standard will increase children's precocious puberty and impair the development of the reproductive system; increase the risk of diseases such as asthma, allergies, and chronic heavy metal poisoning; reduce the quality of sperm in adult men and disrupt endocrine in women.

Industry insiders remind parents to avoid buying shoes of unknown origin and unclear labels; choose regular brands to reduce the risk of online shopping for "three-no products"; check information such as brands, manufacturers, and quality inspection certificates; pay attention to the material when choosing, and choose sandals made of EVA and other materials, which are relatively safe, and avoid choosing PVC materials.

This matter has sparked heated discussions and doubts among mainland netizens today.

A big V, "Factory Manager in the Wind", posted on Weibo, "It just so happens that I used to be in this industry. Let me tell you that this kind of excessive material is mainly PVC material. Excessive phthalates can cause precocious puberty and asthma in children, and most of the hole shoes are made of EVA material, which usually does not require phthalate plasticizers, which will be much safer. When buying slippers and sandals, try to choose EVA and PU. In addition, be careful not to get stuck in the elevator."

"Why are half of the slippers ranked at the top of the e-commerce platform excessive, and the excess is hundreds of times? It is mainly the result of price wars. In order to compete on price, manufacturers have to use inferior plasticizers. Inferior plasticizers are like water retainers in the food industry. The same, the more you add, the lower the cost, the more money you make without a bottom line. "

Some people say, "It's terrible, it's hard for you to tell the difference after you buy it." "Instead of dealing with it from the source, you let consumers have a keen eye. What is the market supervision department for?"

"Why can such toxic products still be mass-produced? Many consumers are not professionals, how can they know that buying a pair of shoes is toxic?"

"So, what about the supervision bureau? You sit in the office and play with your mobile phone every day, don't you do your job? It has already flowed into the market, how can you let consumers pay attention? How can consumers pay attention? If you don't deal with it from the source every day, and then talk about it when something happens, is it interesting? ”

“Life is so hard. From food to clothing and daily necessities, people have to identify them by themselves. What are the regulatory departments for? Almost every county and city has this so-called quality supervision unit, but what are they doing? Since you can produce and sell, and then tell ordinary people to learn to identify and not buy, it’s really funny! Or you can just release the brand and the store! Ordinary people can avoid it. Every time it is on the news, there is traffic, and then there is no follow-up. This kind of hole shoes will basically be bought and worn at home, so there is a hot search, but has the problem been solved? ”

Big V, "Those Things about Technology" said, "1. Inadequate supervision; 2. People's hearts are unpredictable; 3. Obsessed with interests. This type of sandals has entered the market, all for their own interests, regardless of the public. ”

Big V, "Cai Yanyan" said, "Summer is here, the season for wearing sandals. This kind of sandals is made of PVC material, and too many inferior plasticizers are added. It can't stand the current blind price competition, and there is no bottom line. ”

Big V, "Dr. Chen from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology" said that it is not just plastic sandals. It has been reported before that several plastic book covers also contain phthalates. Phthalate plasticizers are a very cheap plasticizer that is often added to plastics. This plasticizer can enter the human body through the respiratory tract, digestive tract, skin, etc. After entering the human body, it will bind to estrogen receptors, thereby exerting the effects of estrogen, causing boys to "feminize" and girls to have precocious puberty. Therefore, everyone should be careful when buying book covers for their children in the future. Otherwise, just don't use plastic.