To ask you to swerve Shein & Temu

[DoNoTakeNo]

This Christmas?
I know it’s mainly a cost thing but if it’s achievable, can people possibly manage with less stuff?

So much stuff could be swapped or borrowed rather than bought new from China.

Good luck with that.

@Manyredpoppies jeez, where do you get off speaking for everyone? Why do you assume that people who shop with Temu etc are compulsive / addicted shoppers? Why do you think 'everyone' has too much stuff? How do you know that people can afford to shop in other places?
When you've done a mumsnet poll, then I might listen, but until then, you are making a hell of a lot of assumptions.

@FuckRealityBringMeABook I'm pretty positive that @ninjahamster doesn't really want to be borrowing anyone else's hairbrush.. she's already said it was PART of a bigger order..

What I said is well known. I recommend watching: Buy Now. The shopping conspiracy. See the trailer here: https://www.netflix.com/us/title/81554996?s=a&trkid=13747225&trg=cp&vlang=en&clip=81948006

The issue of clutter is increasing with online shopping, that's a fact.
When something is dirt cheap people feel they can replace it easily, so they buy and buy. It has enormous environmental consequences. It's an addiction for people and it's killing the planet.

Or buy second hand. Or repair it. Or just ask yourself if you really need it.
And you save an awful lot of money too.

Certainly not true in my house. I declutter & things go straight to charity shops, thus 'swerving' Vinted & the like. I have no interest in selling things on.
Even if I had a mansion, you can't buy & buy, that's ridiculous! I don't know a single person who overbuys.

Thanks. I really LOATHE China.

Are you comfortable wearing period pants that quite possibly have dodgy chemicals in them? That would worry me.

I'd probably want to double check the tape measure is accurate too!

Ignore these posters who fail to acknowledge pretty much everything they buy in shops will have been or had raw materials manufactured in China, India or other countries where working conditions are poor and slave labour still exists. It's not like you can see a top in Next and ask to see the chain of origin and production from the raw materials to it ending up on the shelf.

They're only virtue signalling about not buying from Temu and Shein because it's currently being written about in the news. It's hardly a new phenomenon and I remember sweatshop practices being talked about in the 80s when I was in primary school, yet British Governments have closed even more factories in the UK, so it's nigh on impossible to buy a product which has been produced fully ethically.

Even going to work involves supporting slave labour, as sourcing the raw materials to make phones and computers and cars more often than not involves forced labour. People are happy to overlook this and upgrade to the latest iPhone etc every few months. They'll switch to an electric car because they've read in the news it's better for the environment, but will overlook the fact that children die whilst mining for cobalt to manufacture the batteries. You don't need to look far on this forum, to see people using ChatGPT etc to post replies. It's unlikely they've considered the exploited labour which occurs in the early stages of developing AI. Children being forced to work long hours in poor conditions to label data and often view graphic material.

Paying a bigger markup for products leads people to believe this is going to the workers and not the factory owners or to Marketplace owners like Amazon. Seeing the shit working conditions Amazon imposes on it's warehouse staff in this country, I highly doubt this is the case.

I don't know anyone desperate, everyone I know has a job. But there's still a handful who buy from those sites. They just don't understand how bad those companies are.

I've never used them.

Current conversation is the climate damage of sea vs air freight. You're obviously not actually reading what anyone is saying, rather jumping to "virtue signaling" so you don't have to view your own habits through a remotely critical lense.
That poster can absolutely ignore me if they wish to, but they keep coming back of their own volition.

Complete red herring. The people who are anti-Shein tend also to be the people who don't buy new, who cycle to work, who don't change their phones regularly, who boycott ChatGPT.

Temu and Shein also ship goods by sea freight. What have I written which suggests I am not viewing my own habits through a 'remotely critical lens'?

You didn't even address the topic of conversation. You aren't engaging thoughtfully at all. And other grown ups don't need to be told what to ignore.

I'm not sure what part of my post wasn't thoughtful. It's relevant that Governments are eroding people's purchasing choices by not supporting British manufacturing. Consumers don't have the transparency they should have about the true origin of the goods they are buying. Anyone can set themselves up as an ethical, sustainable clothing company. You can look for certifications like 'fair wear' which suggests a company wants to commit to improving working conditions in factories, but it's not a guarantee that no exploitation was involved in the manufacturing process. If a clothing company doesn't own the factory (which is more often than not the case) they have little control over the working conditions.

I'm not sure what purpose 'green guilting' strangers on this thread actually serves?

Of course it serves a purpose. It is unarguably better to purchase a hairbrush from a local shop that was transported on a cargo ship, than to fly one over from China just for you. Lots of people just don't know this stuff, let alone understand it. We're not talking about British manufacturing, we're talking about transportation. It's literally the easiest thing people can do to make a small change and you think we shouldn't even talk about it? Why?

You can also buy hairbrushes for £1 in Iceland, £1-£2 in Boots, and £1-£2 in Asda. I'm sure Poundland has similar, as do other supermarkets. You can get combs for 48p too.

So it's not like there aren't cheap hairbrushes freely available in the UK....

Again. It was part of an order.
I don’t leave the house so cannot go to shops to find good deals.

Where have I said we shouldn't talk about how goods are transported? I've argued the opposite, that consumers should be able to see where and how goods are produced and shipped. That way they can make properly informed decisions based on fact rather than assumption.

You argued that Temu/Shein are worse because they fly goods rather than sending them by cargo, but they do also use sea freight to transport goods. How do you know that the hairbrush you buy in boots has arrived by sea rather than flown over and wasn't produced in the same factory as the one being sold on T/S? I own a shop and aren't privy to the details of how goods are transported over from the factories.

You own a shop, but you don't know how your goods get to you? Have you ever asked? I can't imagine it's a secret.

Calling the discussion "virtue signalling" or "green guilting" isn't exactly you being open minded and willing to learn is it?

Do you not know anyone you could give two quid to to buy you a hairbrush?

Of course. BUT I WAS DOING A BIGGER ORDER. So adding a hairbrush was no big deal!

Its not crap, its good shit.

More stuff on the plane = bigger carbon footprint.
You don't have to think it's a big deal, but you don't seem to actually grasp the facts to be honest.