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.

I have news for you, you don't get to dictate how and what people buy.

I'm not in poverty but I'm not well off at all by any stretch, I work a hell of a lot to afford a very basic lifestyle. The little indulgences are what keep me going, like hell I'm working every day of the week to only buy absolute bare essentials.

As it stands I don't buy much clothing anyway, I have one winter coat that I've been wearing for years, but I do like gadgets to make my life that bit easier and the tiniest less shit.

Depends what you're buying.

Temu is great for cheap hobby bits.

Terrible if you think you're genuinely getting a £100 item for a fiver.

If you want affordable basics i would instead (in U.K.) suggest sainsburys or Asda, their clothes fit better and last for similar money

Because they sell exactly the same things as you get in shops. You just cut out the middlemen. All those in between have to charge markups for shipping, customs, admin, staff, brick and mortar rent, marketing, etc.

And no, you are not taking business away from lovely small, businesses. The core competition for Shein and Temu are mega corporations like ASDA, Tesco, Amazon, garden centres, discount stores. They are run by a bunch of wealthy, faceless men in suits and I have no qualms not lining their pockets when I can get exactly the same things directly from the factories.

Plastic waste is negligible because they're sending an item that is 100% wanted directly to the consumer. There is absolutely more waste involved with traditional retail because companies need to import masses of plastic crap that they haven't even sold yet. Anything leftover gets thrown away.

o charity shops so it doesn't get wasted

@ChimChimeny - as a charity shop volunteer, we don't want your second hand Shein stuff. Or Pretty Little Thing, Boohoo, Missguided, ASOS. Because second-hand it is worth nothing. It's poorly made and fit only for the rag bag.

I also think the old line about "all retailers being the same" is just lazy. You can - if you are interested - look up the ethical ratings of all high street retailers in the UK. These retailers have to satisfy their shareholders and customers that they are taking steps not to use slave labour and treat factory workers safely. If they don't, they are exposed in the press. Sure, buying from Uniqlo, M&S or Zara might mean that you are UNKNOWINGLY contributing to slavery or excessive pollution.

Buying from Temu/Shein/Boohoo etc is KNOWING that you are contributing to all of that and choosing to do it anyway.

You’ll be the first to know if that ever happens

Oh god no!!!!!
😂

I don't actually think there is much difference in the environmental impact between Shein/Temu and many other places on the high street these days. You pretty much need to be spending circa £200 an item to get actually properly ethically made clothing. Which most people don't have spare these days. Then you actually need to be the right size to fit into said brands (God help you if you are over a size 14 and under 5'5"!).

Shein also has one of the best plus sized collections I've ever seen.

You must know some very strange people if they're purposely buying plastic things they don't actually need.

Why don't you speak to them directly about this?

Don't buy anything from Temu, then. Nobody's forcing you.

Maybe your house is indeed full of acquired stuff that you need clear out. But that doesn't mean everyone else's is. Some people aren't lucky enough to have the money to accumulate a house full of stuff like you have, and maybe they really do need to be able to (for example) make a child's room look nice in their rented flat or equip a kitchen or whatever. Don't fucking judge people when you know nothing about their lives.

When I was in my early 20s I had to flee from a domestic violence situation and find somewhere to live. I was not earning a good salary and because of the difficult of my situation, I had to leave very suddenly with pretty much only a bin-bag full of clothes and my phone. When I moved into a tiny bedsit flat, I had nothing - no bedding, no kitchen stuff, nothing.

Websites like Shein and Temu didn't exist then and basically my only options were charity shops (very hit and miss, and I could easily have been into every charity shop on my high street and not found the things I needed), supermarkets or Ikea. Even the cheapest stuff in Ikea and supermarkets was a massive stretch to my budget back then, and honestly, a site like Temu would have been a fucking godsend.

Great that you can afford to do that. Not everyone can. Some people are poor. It's like Penneys/Primark. Nobody is pretending it's environmentally friendly, but it is affordable. Until a balance is struck between affordable and climate change friendly this will go on. Because less well off people need clothes too.

Except it's not. Because Smyth's/Amazon have to make sure that toys they sell in the UK conform to UK safety standards and have been properly tested.

When you buy toys from Chinese sites like Temu there is no guarantee that toys have been made safely and using materials which are not toxic. Or with pieces which aren't going to break off and cause a choking hazard. People who buy this sort of counterfeit stuff for their children on Temu are crazy.

I didn’t say I was cleaning out plastic crap I’ve downsized so don’t have space for some of the nice things I’ve collected over the years

Same item, lower price on Temu, I purchased four for a Xmas window display, battery operated.

I bought this lovely pair of boots a year ago from a local shop. The claim was they were ethically produced, made by people paid properly and they are so comfortable BUT..one year in and, bearing in mind I wasn't wearing them in summer at all, the foot is peeling away from the sole already.
They weren't cheap. I thought they were an investment to last me several winters. I am really disappointed. I so rarely buy new things and I Do consider ethics, but am starting to think nothing is made to last any more, whoever makes it.
I might bite the bullet and save for a pare of British made Doc martens. I used to have docs 30 years ago when they were mostly made in the UK. They lasted years. I stopped buying them when they moved majority production to Taiwan and continued to charge the same price. Genuine British made still exist, though... But at a price.
Vimes 'boots theory' of economics in action, except even spending more money is no guarantee, sadly.

Haven’t used Temu but I’ve bought lots from shein and it’s actually pretty decent quality. Some of DC’s clothing but also a fair amount of homeware like fleece blankets and cushion covers which are great, no complaints from me and I certainly haven’t had to replace anything.

These companies are just a tiny few of very, many high selling companies have continuously failed to address issues including human rights, animal rights and environmental concerns.

• Amazon.
• ASDA.
• Nestle.
• Coca Cola.

Do you not buy from any of those either? Trying to be environmental conscious, ethically aware and not constantly broke from being so is not easy and straightforward. It certainly isn’t just Temu .

Because that's the only other option, isn't it? It's either sit at home weaving your own lentils to crochet your knickers, or buying from Temu and Shein. 🙄

Someone will be along to tell you that your house will go up in flames, while buying from Amazon assuming they're getting a superior product

They won’t notice both sites have the same backdrop and items in the picture 🤣

My daughter buys her dresses from Shein. She went to a very luxury hotel dinner party and the host said she was the best dressed there.. and everyone else complimented her on her lovely dress.
You do realise that many more items from clothes to gadgets to TVs and tech are made in China in same factories? Get over yourself and stop being a snob.

My diamond shoes are too tight and my wallet's too small for my 50s...

You could buy a M&S coat for £80 and keep it for 10 years. You want to get your moneys worth. It's decent quality

That's great, if you have £80. Plenty of people don't.

If you or your child needs a coat, and you don't have £80 left after you've paid for food and bills and rent, it doesn't matter if the £80 coat is the best quality coat in the world and lasts you a fucking century, because you JUST DON'T HAVE £80.

Because they're poor and buying a little something cheap off Temu gives them a tiny dose of dopamine while they deal with all their other stresses or lets them give their kids a gift instead of giving them nothing and lets them feel like they're doing a good job.

You don't understand why people buy cheap things? Really?

I'm not saying Shein etc is great but it isn't beyond me to comprehend why it's popular.