Too wonder why people shop on temu Shein etc

[HappySunday1]

When we know how bad the environment is how much plastic and stuff ends up in land fill how poor the workers conditions are why are we supporting them. I see so many people doing big hauls of stuff. I know it’s cheap and maybe it’s all people can afford by you buy cheap you buy twice.

because i'm a disabled, plus size goth living on benefits, and goth style clothing in the uk is stupidly expensive

i've been wearing some of the stuff i've had from shein for 2+ years and its still in good condition.

My partner made a good point (imo, I don't follow world politics much, I can barely keep up with our own) about this today, China is a communist state, has a blossoming relationship with Russia, and news sources say are preparing to go to war with the US over Taiwan, which no doubt we will probably get dragged into as a US/China war will become a world war quite quickly.

Do we really want to be funding this?

25% of the world's manufacturing is outsourced to China. I'm not sure what choice you have as an individual consumer about who you fund.

The West's international relations with China (industrial communism) are better than those with Russia (capitalist autocracy). It sounds like your partner is paying attention to the world view promoted by likes of Trump and that ilk of political grifter.

He can't stand trump 😂 we're both somewhat left leaning, but I'm not sure what news sites he reads it's just the ones that pop up on his phone we don't watch news on the TV or anything (we only have netflix and Amazon)

Isn't China's president now president for life? I read that on a Google search but only in the little blurb I didn't go too far into it. But surely that's far more than just industrial communism?

I don't personally but I understand why people do.

I was made redundant unexpectedly in July and had to go out and buy new interview clothes because I'd put on weight since my last interview. Cost me £6 to get into town on the bus then mooch around the shops for ages plus the cost of a new outfit.

If I was cash strapped and was in desperate need I'd just order cheap stuff online, find my size with the click of a button and get free delivery.

And regarding things like Vinted and the like, you have to find something suitable in your size, then trust that the seller will post on time and trust that the item is in decent condition, plus you have to pay individual postage on every item unless you can order in bulk from the same seller.

Charity shops are terrible, I struggle to find anything decent and not everyone has charity shops nearby.

I see the appeal of Shein and the like.

Because life is fucking expensive and the stuff is fairly decent. It’s on policymakers and leaders to make better conditions for everyone, including skint people, not on consumers

I am aware that this thread was designed essentially so that you could posture, but it may be wise to note that "nice things" to some may be "absolute crap" to others.

Because I like the clothes on Shein and they're affordable 🤷‍♀️

Exactly.

So many people unable these days to distinguish between want and need.

I wear dresses from Shein because they fit, are actually very nice (if you know how to choose well) and I actually get quite a few compliments.

Society is more at risk from people that don't pay any attention to the news than it is to anyone buying tat from Chinese online retailers.

Utter nonsense.

I try to keep up with UK news, enough to make an informed decision when the elections come around. But I generally don't get too involved in world politics because there's often a lot of history involved which I'm not fully aware of (like the situation in Gaza) so I read it if it comes up on my various feeds but I don't search it out or spend hours looking into it. I just thought it was an interesting point but perhaps it's not relevant that they (supposedly, I'm not privy to Chinese government plans) intend to take control of Taiwan (sure that's been spoken about for years at this point with some posturing on both sides) which is supported by one of our allies

I can believe that you do, but it may be because the designs are stolen from smaller firms that can't do anything about it.

I don't want to lecture anyone. I know my own purchasing habits aren't perfect, I love clothes too and unlike OP, it's not beyond my wit to figure out why people like Shein. And it definitely isn't alone in its failings. But it really is one of the more egregious fast-fashion-from-China operations, in part because it's so ubiquitous and enormous, and even by the standards of that industry it is particularly bad. Have a read here https://ethically-dressed.com/6-reasons-you-should-never-shop-at-shein/

I know Vinted etc isn't perfect either, but if you're ("you" as in, anyone reading this) only paying a few quid anyway, please consider second hand purchasing if you're on a budget or buying for children. Or if you can spend high street prices, maybe even consider finding a local dressmaker and getting stuff made? It is very often not as expensive as you might expect and it will be unique and tailored to fit you, rather than mass produced.

This.

I don't shop on them because when I have tried them it's been really low-quality, and while I don't mind cheap, they were pretty ill-fitting clothes and I can afford slightly better, but if I couldn't, I'd definitely shop there still. Needs must.

Those goods include food, particularly containing tomato and peppers. There's more engaged with agriculture than manufacturing. We all don't give a shit about Africa. If we cared about starving children and displacement because of climate, we'd all eat plant based. These threads are about snobbery and look down on people.

Why?

There will not be ww3 over Taiwan. Yes its an ally but its not part of nato and USA would help but ultimately so they can remain the major superpower and stop China eventually overtaking them.
We did nothing about Hong Kong despite Blair promising when they signed it back to China from the UK colonies that it would remain independent. We made some noises and said hk British can come live here, no war at all.

That's good to know! I hear a lot of what I guess is scaremongering, second hand from FIL (he's more concerned about Russia but China does get a mention). I didn't know that regarding Blair and Hong Kong, I was just in high school when 9/11 happened and from then all the political talk was about that war

There was no specific war after 9/11, USA used the term war on terror and sort of linked later the Iraq war and later Libya but 9/11 is not specifically linked to a declared war. It has a legal meaning.

That's interesting, so were the US already in the middle east before then? Or do you mean the aftermath of 9/11 wasn't technically called a war? That was sort of my first taste of world politics I guess, and mostly I just remember bush shouting about WOMD and us drawing no war protests on our schoolbooks like it would make a difference 🙄 ahh the naïvety of 11-13 year olds

Going to go and brush up on my recent history while I get some work done I think, I know far more about ww2 than I do about world politics in my own lifetime

I can only assume that the holier than thou OP has never shopped in supermarkets ( mass purchasing drove many a fishmonger, butcher and grocery out of business) ; never purchased on Amazon ( no explanation needed), never buys out if season or overseas produce and checks the label of origin of all her foods and clothing ( even shock horror if it comes from the High Street). I assume she’s also aware that high end ( “ buy once and it lasts seasons”) designer clothing and handbags can also be made in exact same sweat shops she so despises - but presumably having such ginormous concern for the environment she fully researches all this before making any purchase whatsoever. For the mere mortals among us , many people are driven by cost. A £1 umbrella will surely not last even one winter - but if £30 is a weekly budget then it’s not being spent on a sturdy umbrella!! For those saying it’s laziness and check out eBay ( also clothes and products often of unknown origin , and not helping local businesses) or charity shops - please recognise you are in a position of privilege to live near decent charity shops/ have time to browse them. Also they are no longer “ cheap” - my local Oxfam has on several occasions had a price tag above the original sale tag cost!! It’s indisputable that Temu and the like will have an effect on British businesses AND the environment , just as supermarkets and Amazon have had; but presumably the OP also researches and boycotts all the products, places and services currently funded/ supported and run by overseas countries such as China - good luck with that ! The horse has well and truly bolted - UK car industries, steelworks etc have all been decimated, and even many of our food products are now shipped from overseas. Of course it’s not ecologically or environmentally friendly- and if you can make a stand that’s marvellous- but many people are simply too busy in survival mode.

If people want to shop with them, fair enough, but this is what happened to me. I have a small shop. I stock tarot cards. They aren’t cheap to source. Temu sells the ‘same’ decks for pennies. Curios I ordered a pack. Of course they were a cheap rip off with no regards to the copyright therefore the artist who published them gets nothing. Quality was awful compared to the real ones. But the worse bit was some random person coming on my shops page and sharing a link to the cheap temu cards and calling me ridiculous for charging what I do when you can get them for less on temu. Items that aren’t ripping off someone’s published work I don’t mind, but it doesn’t stop at that. It’s really hurting artists and designers.

You don't have to perfect to oppose the mindless consumerism that temu/shein promote. Untested chemicals, provenance entirely unknown, unnecessary airlines, unethical production etc. A £1 umbrella is going to keep you dry for approximately half a shower = it is absolute junk that nobody needs to be buying.
Start by differentiating between want and need. Everyone needs food, nobody needs various trinkets and lots of new plastic clothing.