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Original poster

Too wonder why people shop on temu Shein etc

558 replies

HappySunday1 · 20/11/2023 17:32

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.

OP posts:
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13
Caughtatacrossroads · 20/11/2023 19:02

Too wonder about self righteous internet forum users who judge other people about where they shop and aren’t really interested in the answer as to why…

Lizzt2007 · 20/11/2023 19:03

Tighginn · 20/11/2023 18:31

Too lazy to go to Primark, poundland, ect.

My nearest primark is 50 minutes away by car. 1 1/2 on public transport. And if you think Poundland is selling better stuff you're deluded.

TheKnittedCharacter · 20/11/2023 19:03

People that shop at Shein probably know nothing about the ethical concerns regarding child and forced labour. Some people can be happily blinkered to it.

I am always sad to see people buying battery eggs or cheap meat. It’s the same sort of thing imo.

MigGirl · 20/11/2023 19:05

I won't shop an Temu from an ethics point of view, they sell most things at a loss and it's to get your personal data to sell on. I haven't looked at Shein, probably as their marketing hasn't been as aggressive.

But did some serious research on Temu when I started seeing all these adds and didn't believe the prices. I'm assuming a lot of these companies won't actually last that long.

Boymum2104 · 20/11/2023 19:05

A lot of 'high end' more expensive shops are also the same

easylikeasundaymorn · 20/11/2023 19:06

ManateeFair · 20/11/2023 17:40

I know it’s cheap and maybe it’s all people can afford

You've answered your own question.

'Buy cheap, buy twice' is perhaps true in many cases, but the idea of spending a lot of money on one good quality item that will last you a lifetime only really works for people who have the money sitting there in the first place. For example, if someone badly needs a winter coat, then yes, of course spending more on timeless, top-quality well-made one will mean that coat lasts you a lot longer. But you still have to have the money to spend on the initial outlay, and if you need a coat, you need a coat - you can't sit there saving up the pennies for six months because by the time you've got enough for a quality coat, you'll have frozen to death. So people who are skint buy one for £15 from Shein and it will just about last them the winter.

you also have to take into account when buying the expensive, high quality 'timeless' piece, that:
a) it's actually timeless - most things go in and out of fashion, even something like a plain pair of black boots can look out of date within a few years
b) you're not planning on significantly gaining/losing any weight over the decade or so you'd need to wear the more expensive piece to justify the cost
c) as above, your lifestyle isn't going to change drastically over the next few years (i.e. invest in a capsule business dress wardrobe then end up WFH/sahm)
d) you can guarantee you won't lose, damage, or stain the item, a child won't throw up on it, it won't get stolen the first time you wear it etc.

You're assuming people will only wear cheap clothes once, but that's not necessarily the case. the things I've worn the least have been some of my most expensive purchases - wedding dress, expensive celebration outfits, 'interview' blazer I've never worn again.
Whereas I wear cheap everyday stuff from primark until it falls apart (which in my experience takes the same time as stuff from more middle of the road brands, sometimes lasts longer).

Lovemusic82 · 20/11/2023 19:06

TheKnittedCharacter · 20/11/2023 19:03

People that shop at Shein probably know nothing about the ethical concerns regarding child and forced labour. Some people can be happily blinkered to it.

I am always sad to see people buying battery eggs or cheap meat. It’s the same sort of thing imo.

I don’t think it has anything to do with people not knowing, most are well aware but when it comes to clothing their own kids or themselves if they can’t afford ethnical clothing then they are going to buy what ever they can afford. Same goes for food, not everyone can afford organic meat that’s been reared on a top notch farm, they are going to buy what they can afford.

Stroopwaffels · 20/11/2023 19:07

TheKnittedCharacter · 20/11/2023 19:03

People that shop at Shein probably know nothing about the ethical concerns regarding child and forced labour. Some people can be happily blinkered to it.

I am always sad to see people buying battery eggs or cheap meat. It’s the same sort of thing imo.

They do know. But they don't care.

Which is worse. They know that their Christmas window stickers and "stocking fillers" are being made by enslaved children for their own children. And don't care, because it's cheap.

ithinkthatmaybeimdreaming · 20/11/2023 19:09

HappySunday1 · 20/11/2023 17:43

I’m on about the people buying stuff they don’t need if you need a coat and can only afford a Shein one then get one but does everyone need a pack of some plastic crap

Oh, do get off your high horse! I prefer to have as little "stuff" as possible myself, but other people like plastic crap, and they are entitled to like it, and to buy it. Some people have shit lives, and if buying this stuff gives them a bit of pleasure then good on them.

I have a couple of friends who buy from such sites. One has a terminally ill adult child, the other never managed to find the partner and have the children she always wanted. I wouldn't dream of judging them, nor of policing what anyone else wants to buy.

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 20/11/2023 19:10

There is so much more to the harm those companies cause than just slave labour. Which I'm not discounting at all but many posters seem to not realise what a low bar Temu and Shein have set all round.

soggytodger · 20/11/2023 19:11

FestiveSandman · 20/11/2023 18:58

Course it will 😂

Show quote history

Do you enjoy 40 degree summers @FestiveSandman ?

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 20/11/2023 19:12

PurpleWisteria1 · 20/11/2023 18:33

The thing that people don’t realise about these sites (in particular temu) :-

  1. Not only are they using slave enforced and child labour - which if you actually give it a moment to think why would you even want to touch a product knowing that a slave child has packaged it / made it? No matter how ‘poor’ you are. Very few to none of us in the UK are actually poor. The very fact that you are living here means you have options that the majority of the world don’t.
  2. Even if you don’t give a shit that a 6 year old slave made your window stickers for you (or whatever) Temu’s sister company is being implicated and investigated for spy ware, data collection and by virtue it’s highly likely that Temu are also doing the same. And by that I don’t mean just a few details about your shopping habits. I mean code placed on your phone, bypassing phone security to monitor apps, texts, hack your Facebook and other accounts by changing passwords, monitoring emails and using that email to access passwords to other sites, cloning your identity and stealing your funds. I already know several people who’s Facebook was hacked not long after downloading the Temu app. Google it if you think I’m making it up.
  3. Even if you really don’t care about all of that, Temu and shein are having a severe effect on UK sellers. I own a small business selling personalised gifts online and myself and thousands of other sellers are having all their business taken because we can’t sell products for £1. Not to mention that thousands of us are getting our product photos directly stolen and placed on one of these sites where they will try to reproduce our handmade goods (and they will be 100% shit). These sites are not only taking from small sellers. They are spending such huge marketing amounts that large brands are getting completely wiped off searches. If you want to keep British brands, shops we know and love online and high street, if you want interesting goods by small sellers, if you want the money to go back into the UK to benifit YOU, your kids and grandkids, please please don’t use these sites. Yes I know they are cheap- but I would explore you to buy quality, buy less rather than have cheap crap shipped directly from these sites, before that’s all there is left.

👏

SalviaDivinorum · 20/11/2023 19:12

Because people don't care about the stuff they can't see.

They don't care about the slave labour involved and they don't care about throwing more and more stuff into landfill when fashions change nor about the waste of natural resources.

As long as it's cheap then all is fine.

BloodandGlitter · 20/11/2023 19:12

Diamonde · 20/11/2023 18:33

Except nobody who uses Temu gives a dick about the environment 😂

Shein and Temu shoppers are not going:

Ooh I need to be mindful of my carbon footprint. I'll lay off the steak this week. They're buying multiple swimsuits and jetting off.

Show quote history

Mmm actually... I use Temu and Shein and care about the environment, I offset my use of those websites by not eating meat daily, never going on an aeroplane, nobody in my house driving. I take my balance where I can.

Chickenkeev · 20/11/2023 19:15

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 20/11/2023 19:10

There is so much more to the harm those companies cause than just slave labour. Which I'm not discounting at all but many posters seem to not realise what a low bar Temu and Shein have set all round.

I think people do realise, but equally there are people poor enough to use them. There is nothing good about the model, it's all exploitative. But cheap clothes are wanted.

JRBLB161821 · 20/11/2023 19:15

I've never actually used Shein before but after losing 4 stone and ending up a size 4 in clothes, I've been looking around and Shein appears to be one of the only affordable places that actually sells a wide of range of clothes in a size that will actually fit me.

I've tried shopping second hand but it's really hard to find anything at all in a 2xs/4 in charity shops round here and I've wasted so much money on vinted to end up with a load of clothes that don't fit either that I can't even return.

I'm currently mostly still living in summer clothes worn with tights and I'm desperate for some warmer clothes but I'm struggling to be able to even afford the cheapest clothes, let alone worry about whether my clothing is ethical right now. I'm financially at a point in my life at the moment where I have to put food items back on the shelf at Lidl!

So yeah when I next get paid I'm definitely going to order myself a few jumpers and a couple of pairs of jeans/trousers off Shein and I won't feel guilty about it. Unless you're buying someone elses clothes for them, it's really not your place to judge. 👍🏻

BlueWhippets · 20/11/2023 19:17

I find these threads utterly depressing because it's just full of people trying to justify sweatshops and destroying the environment. People want as much as they can get for as little as possible with no consideration for the environment or the people on the other side of the production. I've yet to see any reasonable justification for it.

Stroopwaffels · 20/11/2023 19:17

But @Chickenkeev it's not just clothes and it's not just "poor people". You are not telling me that everyone shopping on Temu/Shein are doing it because they can't afford anything else. Lots of people on this thread have said they are shopping there for non-essentials, the "plastic tat", because they want to, and don't care about ethics. (Or lack of).

BlueWhippets · 20/11/2023 19:19

elfcow · 20/11/2023 18:29

Snobfest thread lol

How when the poorest people in society are the ones most impacted by slave labour and climate crisis?

calwill · 20/11/2023 19:20

Because people don't care. They just want tat and they want to buy as cheap as possible, never mind the workers or the planet. Even on this thread a pp is boasting that they place at least one Temu order a month without any shame

ithinkthatmaybeimdreaming · 20/11/2023 19:25

Anyone would think Temu and Shein invented plastic tat! It has been around in some form for most of my lifetime.

I tend to judge people like you OP more than I do anyone who uses those businesses. I've never been in a situation where I couldn't afford to buy clothes or basics, or even just something frivolous, but I am fully able to understand and empathise with those who are.

I do hope OP and the others on here living in their comfortable little bubble do a thorough investigation into every single purchase they make and how it is produced.

Begsthequestion · 20/11/2023 19:27

Ponoka7 · 20/11/2023 18:42

Re child labour, the worst culprits are chocolate companies, Cadbury, mars, aero etc. Then you've got H&M, Forever 21, Gap, Nike, Zara, Adidas, Uniqlo (a favourite on here), Victoria Secrets, La Senza, Apple, Disney, the tobacco industry, Coffee industry etc.

The Uyghur Muslims who are in camps in China are making stuff for Temu while suffering genocide. So it's not only about child labour.

Begsthequestion · 20/11/2023 19:27

ithinkthatmaybeimdreaming · 20/11/2023 19:25

Anyone would think Temu and Shein invented plastic tat! It has been around in some form for most of my lifetime.

I tend to judge people like you OP more than I do anyone who uses those businesses. I've never been in a situation where I couldn't afford to buy clothes or basics, or even just something frivolous, but I am fully able to understand and empathise with those who are.

I do hope OP and the others on here living in their comfortable little bubble do a thorough investigation into every single purchase they make and how it is produced.

Judge away, you seem to just want an excuse to keep doing what you're doing.

FestiveSandman · 20/11/2023 19:29

soggytodger · 20/11/2023 19:11

Do you enjoy 40 degree summers @FestiveSandman ?

Show quote history

Gotta love a good hot summer ☀️

Bamburghlover · 20/11/2023 19:30

Whoops