To ask you to swerve Shein & Temu

No it isn't. You have absolutely ZERO idea of why someone might need to make certain choices. So, like I said upthread, until such a time comes that you're actually paying their bills, your opinion is irrelevant.

My point is it is taking away our choice, we are becoming less and less social, we are losing our businesses ( and retail property values).

There will be nothing left!
( nevermind though, you don't like shopping…)

We all have to live on the planet that is collapsing beneath all this shit.
We've got more stuff than 90% of the world, and more stuff than ever before in the history of the world. We all need less.

Huge - but the issue here is that as a teacher with my own children to look after I shouldn’t have to pay for pencils for other people’s children out of my own pocket - whether I choose to buy from WHsmiths or Temu. But that’s where we are in education at the moment. And do you seriously look at the origin of pencils you buy? Do you think schools only purchase (when they have a budget) uk made pencils?

Not an issue. Never have and never will buy from either of them.

Digdongdoo · Today 19:44
Depends what you mean by cross check every item I buy. I do only buy from reputable UK/EU regulated retailers

I try to do this too.
I buy less , from ethical companies when I can and second hand . Am aware some hight street shops provided better conditions to workers- but how to find who is who ? I mostly buy from vinted .

My issues is ( apart from hand knitted socks ) were can you buy socks?? i go in nice looking shops - and socks are made in china- how can I check that they are not at temu level of the supply chain, but one from china that may treat staff better ? ( I saw the horrendous program by Stacey Dooley about clothes production- some conditions were unsafe and appalling- some were were they treated staff much better than others.
)
I know times are hard - we eat v v cheaply - but for me I just cannot actively chose to buy products were people are treated so badly .
So many of the things made are not necessary- but mostly pleasing un needed items supplied by other peoples suffering - if we think we are poor in this country- i feel we should look at the lives of those who produce these goods . After watching the documentary , I simply cant say because our life may be hard its ok to add to others misery.
i just cant.
Its not a holier than tho stance - I just would feel that I would not enjoy the items either.
Of course we all do our best , and I would really like to know more about how to check the providence of items?

I suspect OP is offering up financial assistance and donations to those who can’t afford to shop organic, handmade, locally sourced products like she does.

OP, do you want bank details sent to you for bank transfers or do you prefer gofundme pages?

And, so what!? You know, it's OK for people to just want things that might bring them a little joy!? For however momentarily that may be...

It's everyone's place to judge.

You don't know how or what those pencils are made of. How vast are the savings on pencils?

Totally agree with you. Consumerism is destroying the planet.
We shouldn't support slavery and exploitation, but sadly not many people think about where the products come from.
I also hate seeing all the social media videos of people ripping open a new parcel of shite clothes. We have enough clothes in the world for the next 6 or 7 generations. At least cut the bloody bag open with scissors so you can reuse it, rather than ripping it in half.
Where do people think things go when we throw them away or 'recycle' them?
www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/fashion-waste-from-top-uk-brands-found-polluting-endangered-turtles-habitat-in-ghana/

Probably. But not my place - or yours - to judge.

Yeah cos providing my pupils with pencils and pens and things to write on is proof I don’t care about ethics. Ok
i

i at least had some budget 5-10 years ago. That has now gone but the expectations in school are
that classes still need the resources.

Well yeah. Teachers should care about ethics and safety. I'd rather a more bare classroom.

Not everyone likes clothes shopping, I detest it. 99% of the time I order and try on at home in my own time

Temu and Shein, very likely products made by slaves. If you object to stuff being made by slaves (I would have thought everyone would but it seems a lot on this thread don't care), then don't buy from them.

Other websites that might use slaves? That gets trickier, but at least avoiding Temu and Shein is a start.

School budgets gave long been an issue. No TEMU until recently. What did teachers do before?

You are taking a risk using products that have a higher incidents of being unsafe.

What kind of things do you buy?

never used them, never will

Probably manufactured in the same factories as B&M, The Range, Wilkos, Home Bargains etc anyway.

Really? Concerning that a teacher uses their own money to buy display borders, maths and English resources so that the class actually have something to learn with? What would you suggest the alternative is?

What sort of things are you buying?
It's actually concerning that a teacher would overlook health and safety to buy things of unknown provenance.

Swashbuckles · Today 18:21

Can you find me a brand that sells similar clothes whose morals are squeaky clean? Preferably who i dont have to travel to the other end of the country to visit?

for clothes - Palava - ethical brand .

And are leaving our UK high streets empty.

Gone are the days, in of social time shopping. A right of passage as a young teen, Saturday shopping with my friends. A day out with my mum.

Empty shops and cheap rubbish a click away.

What happens when the UK has no shops….Shein, Temu, Amazon and the likes will be able to increase their prices.

I’m a teacher and get no budget for anything. Without Temu my class would not have the things they need to learn. Until other things improve (ie funding for schools) I don’t see what the alternative is when I’m paying for resources out of my own pocket on a weekly basis.