To not buy from Temu

[Mayhemmumma]

Thinking I'm being more ethical not buying from Temu.

But I keep seeing identical items for sale...

My view is that someone is paying the full price for that item. It is either the consumer or someone in the supply chain with far fewer resources than we have. Just recently (and I feel very bad that I have't come to this conclusion earlier) I have started feeling a bit icky that someone else is getting paid a poverty wage just so I can get something a bit cheaper.

I’ve bought quite a few bits from Temu. One arrived broken and one was misdescribed. I filled out a form on the app and was immediately refunded for both, without having to return them.

M&S wouldn’t use the same suppliers as Temu. Suppliers have to adhere to stringent regulations and auditing processes regarding products, working conditions, manufacturing and sustainability - your average Temu supplier wouldn’t qualify.

I’ve not bought from there and I’m glad you all explained about the stealing photos. That’s interesting to know.

My sister keeps buying lots of crap from there and I get them as gifts (which I just give to charity as I’m too polite to her) and I’m just not interested.

@lickthepony did the bank sort that out, no problem?

Some good points thanks.

I'm well aware of the ethical concerns about the brand and I'm certainly not looking to find concentration camps (!)

I make a point never to shop here or shein etc. I try to only buy cruelty free and think about where my purchase comes from.

But I'm worried that high street shops ARE using the same suppliers, certainly it's difficult to find anything, particularly kitchen and home goods not produced in china/india

M and S are supposedly better in terms of being a more ethical brand..,

It just reminds me of when retailers jumped on the vegan bandwagon and cheap plastic shoes were suddenly branded as vegan and ethical - to no benefit of the animal just the profit to be made on them.

@SheepAndSword yes. They were amazing and were on it within 5 minutes of the first dodgy transaction. Had to slow my whole bank account down whilst all the transactions were examined and also had a new card etc.

I don't buy from Temu. Its a data harvesting site.

Have never bought from Temu or Shein. Teen once wanted to buy jeans from Shein. I asked them to find another option. Probably no more ethical, but trying our best not to use the well-known exploiters of labour.

When you buy from these sites you know what you're condoning and nothing will change. Vote with your debit card.

I am not buying from temu/shein anymore but the posters who say that the products wont be the same are not quite right. From past experience the quality of high street vs Temu are the same these days

My bank account was also hacked after using TEMU. The stock I have bought from there was accurate to its description.

I don't buy from Temu but I don't buy from Amazon either if I can avoid it. Thoroughly nasty company.

I’d love to block temu from my search results.
I try to avoid Amazon, which is easier now they are expensive.

I miss actual shops though!! Pre pandemic I rarely shopped on the internet.

It's so hard to know where is ethical and genuine though. There are no shops left around here so it's all online shopping, and it's hard to know who to trust.

This is it isn’t it, trying to navigate what’s just reselling temu at an inflated price

I don't buy from Temu, but it's interesting how some shops are declared unethical when they do exactly what other shops are doing but are mumsnet favourites, so it's ignored.
Uniqlo use child labour, but is the darling of this website. It's quite disgusting really.
Primark was slated on here when the Bangladesh clothes factory collapsed. They were the first to pay put, it took years and legal action for the likes of Zara to give compensation. Which was why Primark and Bangladesh was in the news, the other much more expensive retailers, hid.

Do what you want. But you do understand if you buy the same product from elsewhere the ethics of production are no different?

last year I bought some really cool socks from a boutique stalk at a festival. They we pretty cheap and really unique designs and they washed well. So much so that I wanted some more similar. Googled and found they bought them off temu and stuck a small mark up on them. Of course I ordered them direct from temu myself. Yes it’s horribly unethical. No it’s not worse than most of the supply chains of clothing and tat. I do buy the vast majority of my stuff from charity shops or vinted but have used temu for a few select items.

We are trying, and have been for several years, to not buy unnecessary crap from China, whether Temu or anyone else. It is difficult as virtually everything is now from there, but the key is unnnecessay. Ornaments, trays, when we already have trays that will last longer than us, nick nacks, and decorations- think Christmas Gonks - this years fad, next years landfill. We have saved a fortune, our house has less clutter, and we are not supporting a regime that has a dreadful human rights and green record.

I'd find it difficult to avoid Amazon; Temu sound like a nightmare, I'd panic if they tried to fiddle with my bank account. I keep a tight eye on my meagre funds!

I just got some nice stuff from Temu.

So I'm unreasonable anyway.

Uniqlo use child labour, but is the darling of this website. It's quite disgusting really.

No skin in the game and no affiliation to Uniqlo, but that doesn't seem to be the case: https://directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/uniqlo They're rated as "it's a start" which is 3 out of 5, better than M&S and New Look, for example who are 2/5 and Temu which gets the lowest rating possible.

Always amazes me the mental gymnastics people will do to justify shopping from Temu, Shein and similar. When you buy from a major brand like Zara or Fat Face you know that they are gonig to be held to account and be doing what they can to avoid using child labour or dangerous materials. Yes you might still be stung by realising at a later date that they were hiding something but you have done your best to avoid. When you buy from Shein, Temu etc you KNOW that they are unethical and are involved in everything from slave labour to hacking bank accounts.

The really sad thing is that people just don't care about slave labour and dangerous products or having their bank accounts hacked, they just want cheap tat.

I've bought from Temu in the past and the quality has always been fine,and the items as pictured.I used clearpay as a payment method as I was worried about using my debit card.

Never.

I’ve never bought from Amazon. I hated it from the beginning. I don’t miss it. You can’t miss what you don’t get used to. I don’t buy much high street either, just a few things maybe twice a year when needed. Try to avoid Chinese made. Temu is just the latest iteration. can see the dilemma with affordability though.

No, I don’t buy from them either. With those prices you know someone is getting exploited