To ask you to swerve Shein & Temu

I've never shopped at either of them. I'd like to use Amazon less too but Argos would be my obvious go-to and it's rubbish. They never have the things I want - and don't even seem to be able to get then in to send to a local store, even within a few days.

Who are responsible for the most emissions and who are suffering the most?

Slave labour and poor working conditions are indeed terrible. So is the climate crisis, exacerbated by rich people flying in airplanes for vacations, and poor people in low-lying countries like Bangladesh suffer worst environmental consequences

You're missing the point around slave labour and poor working conditions experienced by those making cut price garments in other countries though @Happyone99

Perhaps I could start a thread called to ask you to swerve vacations abroad on airplanes (which is not a necessity)? I wonder how many people would find that reasonable… I personally don’t use Shein or Temu because they ARE terrible. However, why only change bad things lower income people happen to be involved with, rather than starting with things higher income people are involved with

Do you not believe the slave labour evidence, then?

I like Temu but even I wouldn't buy toys etc from there. I think you've got to be sensible. As for all the Hallowe'en stuff, nope! Ditto Christmas, I drag the same ornaments etc out every year!

It was pretty obvious what you meant op. Definitely given me pause for thought at least.

Yes, it's amazing how unaware people are of the real risk from these products to their and their children's safety.

A consumer survey has shown 95% of Shein and Temu products fail to reach EU safety standards: https://www.ecommercebridge.com/chinese-e-commerce-giants-flunk-eu-safety-tests-95-fail-rate/

This is the point I was trying to make about green guilt. Noone is living a 100% ethical/carbon neutral lifestyle, however hard we try or might want to. Ninjahamster was getting a hard time by some posters for buying a few clothes from Temu a couple of times a year, when it sounds like she's already living life with a relatively low carbon footprint (not travelling much, never flown on a plane) not buying excessive amounts of stuff.

We can all do what we are able to within the circumstances life has dealt us; there's no need to assume those who make different decisions to us are wanting to watch the world burn and be rude to them. Personally I don't buy lots of stuff, primarily because I'm tight with money and want to retire asap (hairbrush is older than me, probably around 50 years old), I have 'fast fashion' items I still wear that I bought 20 years ago. Never been on a plane because my parents live in this country and travel doesn't interest me. I walk or get the train everywhere because I hate driving. If my clothes no longer fit/got worn out, Mum moved overseas, the trains stopped running, of course I'd have to make different choices.

I make my living on selling 'unessential' hobby products to people, so if those people stopped buying stuff, I'd go out of business. It would be hypocritical of me to question whether someone really needed to buy a particular item. I'm sure plenty of us have jobs which require developing or selling goods and services which aren't life or death essential.

I don't have a car, or fly, or get my nails done.

It’s either Temu or SHEIN, or Amazon who cost twice as much.
I don’t mind waiting.

Most clothes I buy are from Vinted. I don’t fly or drive.
Markets are global. Please tell me an alternative - department stores are dying.
Even if I do buy from a uk brand it’s often made in china and the same polyester quality!!

A little more narrative may have been helpful given that people need to feed their kids and manage on less and less money.
I buy on Temu because I make silver jewellery. If I order the tools in the uk they cost 4 times the amount. I’m trying to keep my costs low so I can pass those savings onto customers. If I buy everything from the uk I have to charge customers more. It’s as simple as that!

I don't get nails done, only fly when visiting my parents once every few years, I have to have a car though, there's no public transport to my workplace and its too far to bike (and too dangerous to bike really, especially in winter, as its 80kph windy hilly country roads) but until a couple of years ago I walked or biked everywhere.

Bloody hell, that sounds like black Friday behaviour in America, not British behaviour!

Thanks!

Yes the sales were totally bonkers. Up at 4am on Boxing Day so the store could open at 5. Everything set up so beautifully and within an hour it was like a tornado had ripped through. People would grab all these clothes off the rails then go to a corner to sort and leave the stuff they didn’t want on the floor. The behaviour was atrocious.

It’s not a new thing though or exclusive to those sites.
I worked at Next for a while and day one of the Next sales was madness! People spending thousands on items after queuing all night. Grabbing armfuls of clothes,
I think the problem is, many on this thread have seen the social media haul posts and assume we are all doing that when many, many are not.

Hauls have been around for ages, sadly. Just look at the thousands of YouTube videos which are often thinly-veiled ads and pry on people's fomo. People keep adding more and more unnecessary items in their basket cause it's cheap so why not, and because of commodity fetishism. People want more stuff, newer stuff and buying more becomes a hobby when places like Temu sell you gadgets to solve a problem you didn't even know you had.

China has also had its little mitts in African railways.

If you say so. But I'm obviously not going to take your word for it based upon nothing.