France announce a levy on SHEIN, TEMU and similar imports. AIBU to want the UK to do the same?

i do what I can to try not to add to the world’s problems and one of those things is avoiding shopping that is so cheap because few of the externalities are priced in.

Okay I’ll go solve all the world’s problems before I dare criticise Shein and Temu. Righto.

I mean what I said. You’re talking about dangerous and exploitative practices upon workers in other countries, but you fail to see the things happening in this country. If you want to fight against oppression start on your own doorstep instead of virtue signalling about other countries’ industrial practices thousands of miles away. Plenty to be getting your teeth into over here, my friend 😉

Whether you buy in Shein or Temu or Primark or anywhere for that matter, I think the biggest reason clothes don't last long these days is that people are washing them every flipping day on a hot/long wash. No wonder they are falling to ribbons.

Most clothing just needs a refresh unless you're down the mines or doing hard physical labour, in which case you will have safety gear and more than likely suitable clothing supplied.

I wash all my outer clothing on a quick 15 minute wash. (Towels, sheets and undies get more before you all call me a minging Minnie). All come out fine and seem to last so much longer than when I shoved everything in for an hour or more. They don't need it. Our mothers and grannies just washed on a Monday by hand and used a mangle to squeeze the water out.

Save the planet and save water and your clothes.

What on earth do you mean by that? This thread is about specific companies.

Why don’t you focus on the dangerous and exploitative practices on your own doorstep, in your own neighbourhood, your own family, your own country.

So not true . It’s about the working practices of the manufacturers.You can have manufacturers abroad who meet UK/EU standards. They are not all the same.

Some of us can only afford Iceland 🤷‍♀️

Same here. I’m keeping l what I buy for a long time.

I’ve had some lovely clothes and other things from Temu and Shein at a fraction of the cost on the high street. Remember they’re both marketplaces with loads of different sellers - where do you think the high street shops get their goods? From China, India, Bangladesh, Taiwan. Temu and Shein merely cut out the middle man.

Isn't this already being done/ in progress? It was announced in June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforming-customs-rules-for-low-value-imports/reforming-the-customs-treatment-of-low-value-imports-into-the-uk

Not enough people shop as a hobby to prevent the high street from falling into decline.

But people shop as a hobby to a much greater extent now and to not be able to do that genuinely is a form of social exclusion (am not taking the piss).

Lots of things are dirt cheap today compared to 30 years ago. Food isn’t nor is energy or houses, those essentials are extortionate, but lots of things cost fuck now.

The tax on Shein/Temu isn’t working in France, They just ship via Belguim instead.

We would go back to poor people buying less. It’s funny when we talk about ruining the planet with stuff we buy but it’s always targeted at low cost retailers. Never the places where people have a walk in closet filled with 40 pairs of Jimmy Choos, a dozen Gucci handbags and racks of Baleciaga clothes and Hermes scarves much of which they rarely wear. They claim their stuff is made in Italy and Spain, forgetting the fabric and textilesnare also made by workers in very poor conditions for a very low wage. Then there are the places with half a dozen cars parked outside, way worse for the planet than a dozen Shein tops.

The way we shop is driven by demand. There is a reason we don’t all have to rely on boutique shops people run as a fun hobby, and with the price of even cheap things today, it smacks of the utmost privilege to demand that poor people stop buying things they can afford.

Taxing Temu won’t bring the High street back.

It’s convenience for me, not money. We’re pretty affluent, children in independent school. I don’t have time to trawl the high street when I can just look online. I’d generally pay more for the convenience of being able to shop online.

I like having the physical shops, I often use them for click and collect, or even buy things in person if my size is there, we have loads of clothes shops on the retail park with free parking, though I often walk as it's not far away. I wouldn't want to have everything delivered and some go missing and have never shopped at the cheap Chinese places

If it’s known much if the stuff is harmful the trading standards should stop it being sold in the UK. It won’t bring back the high street but if something isn’t a safe standard to sell then it shouldn’t be available via these sites.

I never understand why when there are discussions about drilling for oil, nobody talks about what all the plastic tat is made of. And drugs. Oil isn’t just used for fuel.

There is so much of this tat around. I cannot believe how cheap things are compared to when I was a teenager. DC bought a r-shirt for £3 from
Primark the other day, that’s not even Shein. I remember when What Everyone Wants opened in my local town when I was 17 and it wasn’t as cheap as that. DC will then spend twice that on a drink in Starbucks (and probably take a photo it before drinking it). L

It’s a real shame especially as he was happy to match the online prices. Just used him for a showroom.

Wonder if people were adding them to their registry’s or using cash back sites to get them even cheaper.

All my big baby stuff came from kiddiecare and babies’r’us.

Was a whole day out going to the massive super store in Peterborough pretty much then out for a meal before home.

I think it’s just a warehouse now.

@Holeymoley28 My BIL opened a baby shop about four years ago. It lasted less than two years, even though they were matching prices people were finding online 😔 People came in, looked at the prams ‘in the flesh’ and then went home and ordered them online 🙄

There are other online shops besides Temu and Shein.

The reasons are really important though, one of the major ones being, 'income'. High Streets aren't destroyed where there is money.