After launching an investigation, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported buying counterfeit and infringing products from Shein, AliExpress and Temu. The organization called for the fast fashion companies to be classified as notorious markets.
The nonprofit organization purchased 51 products from “suspicious listings” on the three companies’ websites and found that 24 were likely counterfeits, including cosmetics, toys, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals and household items, per a press release.
The report was released at the same time the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened its request for public comment on the 2025 Notorious Markets List. The ITIF said in its release that adding Shein, Temu and AliExpress to that list would signal that intellectual property infringement is unacceptable in the U.S.
“The proliferation of counterfeits on Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN is more than a series of isolated mistakes,” Eli Clemens, policy analyst at the nonprofit organization and author of the report, said in the release. “It reflects a fundamental failure by these platforms to prioritize anti-counterfeiting efforts, leading to poor outcomes for brands and consumers alike.”
Spokespeople for Shein and Temu didn’t immediately respond to Fashion Dive’s request for comment. AliExpress couldn’t be reached.
The nonprofit said its test purchases from AliExpress were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for inspection, “but it ultimately failed to seize them and missed all likely counterfeits from Temu and SHEIN, highlighting gaps in enforcement,” per the release.
The nonprofit called on the customs enforcement agency to invest in artificial intelligence to better test for counterfeit products, and the organization further suggested that AI can also be used to identify suspicious listings and product inconsistencies.
