To ask you to swerve Shein & Temu

I totally agree. And not just for Christmas.
I give both a swerve-permanently.
Mostly they are selling cheap and nasty tat which has been produced with cheap labour and next to no concern for the environment.

Hopefully they're not using Apple or Microsoft to access the internet, as these companies also use slave labour!

We have a company called Jeans West in Australia and they have started selling some of their stuff on Temu now.

I bought a coat from Myers in Perth and that was made in China. And when I bought clothes in Japan, they were also made in China.

I guess some things are ethically made in China and some are not.

You're getting too much stick, I have to say something.

This person has a situation whereby she cannot leave the house to mooch around the shops. Money is tight and there are other factors that stop her from shopping outside the home.

If she has/needs to shop on Shein or Temu then that's ok and she should not be shamed by anyone else who isn't in her situation. You don't know what it's like for her and her family!!

Of course child labour isn't good but it's not going to stop because this person stops buying from these outlets!!!

If she can't shop anywhere else then what.... She just doesn't buy at all??!

I did ask them, yes- they assured me that they do have the certificates and it’s all on their original packaging’ that they take them out of to put them on sale… and I don’t know how much responsibility I do feel- I have asked the retailer and it makes me feel very uncomfortable but it’s more their responsibility than mine.

Obviously it depends on the item - I am thinking about the stuff we have seen recently which is a lot of post-summer clear out stuff. Wee skimpy tops, sequin dresses, beach coverups. Those are a hard sell at the end of October anyway, and the people who generally buy from Boohoo, Cider or similar do not want last year's gear, they want the new stuff. A lot of items from those brands are very poor quality and worth hardly anything second hand.

I swerve them anyway, not because I am loaded I just buy less.

I don't mind where you buy from, but just be aware these products are often finished with different sprays etc that are not chemically safe. They may look the same, but the differences can actually be quite dangerous sometimes.

i wouldn’t put Cider and boohoo in the same category - am I missing something something? It feels really wasteful to just bin those as I see them all the time in our charity shops and have definitely bought some in the past.

genuinely interested in the answer x x

Nope sorry i have already ordered a few Christmas presents from temu, i get pretty much all my clothes from shein, i bought a coat of shein last year for £48, googled the brand and it was £108 on Amazon, exact same coat, i also get all my kids shoes on temu/shein, and they last just as long as branded- i bought my son some Jordans for his birthday and they lasted 4 months- thats alot of money for 4 months use when i can pay less, they may only last the same amount of time but i don’t care if they are cheaper xx

A lovely little boujee shop near me seems to source at least 90% of its kids toys and clothing from Temu/Aliexpress/Amazon marketplace. I’m yet to find one thing from there that hasn’t been. It’s a lovely little independent shop on a naice little high st with an m&s food. They’ve chosen items carefully, the stock is beautiful but they seem to have no shame in buying teethers for 83p and selling them for £12.

No-one here has really delved that deep into it other than watching a documentary on Netflix.

We are in bed with China whether you like it or not.

It runs much much deeper than the easy to blame shein and temu (which is seller to consumer setup, a bit like ebay anyway as is aliexpress)

I you think the clothes you bought from seasalt or zara are any better, you're deluded.

I imagine the people who call it "tat" have no experience of it whatsoever. I know of men who have bought tools and suchlike and say the quality is just as good as what they could buy in a local store, but for a cheaper price.

I would love to buy everything local, but if I can get the same thing cheaper elsewhere then that's what I will do. We can't all afford principles.

The most depressing, awful attitude. I’d be ashamed to have written something like this. But hopefully you feel like a total girl boss, and that you’ve really stuck one to the man!!! People like you are equally as awful as the virtue signallers.

This is coming from the same site that routinely has posters complaining about £100k salaries ,£50k in savings and relatively massive pension pots , whilst they're people using food banks 🤭.

I can't take anything on here seriously.

Instead , I will use my own judgement and take advice from people I actually know, who understand my circumstances in life.

Whilst I completely agree, it would have been better to give people some reasons why. Many are oblivious to the unethical practices, dangerous chemicals, horrific environmental impact etc etc.

It’s interesting. Because I feel really uncomfortable by your posts and I do shop at both sites. But I do so out of necessity. I don’t feel comfortable with exploitation but also need to keep costs to a minimum. I try to make a difference where I can. I wouldn’t buy a giant SUV for example. I recycle as much as I can. I hate to throw away food. I avoid plastic. I don’t buy takeaway coffees. I welcome paper straws.
But you seem, proud? And gloaty. And goady.

Right. The stuff is the SAME as anywhere else online though you have to be a bit careful with the sizes of things, double check the size before purchasing as sometimes the pics are disingenuous. I bought some sheer curtains for the spare room and they are beautiful, shimmery and translucent material with a fine gold brocade. About a third of the price of anywhere else.

Temu tat is a thing, but no more than any other online shop.

Perhaps the "tat" notion comes about because they have a minimum purchase before they will post the cart, so perhaps people fill it with cheap tat if they don't really need anything.

These threads really are adverts for Temu. I keep being reminded I have a cart waiting to check out. I know that drive the OP into a state of frothing hysteria, and she's convinced I am the devil, but it's honestly the truth 😂

This is your reminder, to anybody who can't be arsed wading through pages and pages of middle class aspirational terribly 'noice" wannabe activism posts, that nothing you do matters. At all.

That there is no difference - none - between Temu, Shein, Amazon or any other company. You can tell Jasper and Penelope all about those damned uppity proles who simply will not listen at your next pottery and sip class, and you can pat yourself on the back for not being oiks like the rest of the UK.

And it won't make a blind bit of difference.

Not even the utterly obsessed virtue signaller who started this thread 😅(who apparently thinks easily comprehended short paragraph replies are a wall of text, and doesn't understand definitions ) has made even the smallest difference.

You have not helped a single seabird, child, slave pile of landfill or ocean creature by avoiing Temu. Not one.

You are being kept in a state of confused guilt by your overlords who are spending whatever they want on anything they want, eating what they want, doing what they want, wearing what they want and laughing at everyone else. You have no control over the scary things your social media feed is jamming down your throat and are trying to convince yourself you matter. But you don't.

Give a beggar you go past a quid and be nice to your mum. The only lives you can improve, even a bit, are your own and sometimes people in your immediate vicinity.

Be happy, live your life, enjoy your Temu tat. I sure am 😊

(No matter how much screaming any virtual signalling pearl clutcher does about it 😇)

Ok, read the full thread.
Now, can anyone tell me where IS ok to buy, say, clothes? All fully made in the UK? Because, to my mind, M&S started all this when they stopped producing the 100% British St Michael clothes.
Don't give me that crap about shopping in charity shops, that's just dodging the question.

Next, why are posters convinced that some of us buy 'plastic tat' from Temu & Shein? Why on earth would anyone want 'plastic tat'? What IS 'plastic tat'? I've not shopped on Temu for long, & usually buy clothes, t shirts, nighties, knickers & the like. Never looked on Shein's website, so can't speak for them or Ali Express. Never bought 'plastic tat' from John Lewis, come to that.

I'm doing Christmas shopping, as I expect most of us are. Thing is - there aren't any shops left. Have you been to your city centre lately? I don't think we can blame Temu etc for that, either, probably a mix of reasons, shopping online, useless councils, high rents..the shops that used to be there are gone, like Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, etc etc - & before you buy from the shops still using those names, check the reviews - they are truly shocking. Wonder where they're based? ;-)
So.. we're a bit stuck. So don't blame the ladies here who are intelligent enough to check prices on, say, amazon, & realise they can buy the same item more cheaply from Temu. Low incomes doesn't equal thick shoppers. I'm guessing the majority of things in shops or online come from China etc!

Well, that's just off the top of my head. Will welcome replies that don't just parrot others opinions or ask 'what about the slaves'..