France announce a levy on SHEIN, TEMU and similar imports. AIBU to want the UK to do the same?

[AsMuchIn]

AIBU to want the UK to do the same as France, who are imposing a levy on products bought from SHEIN, TEMU, etc.

The impact on our high street (or now lack of) is massive, shops gone or as people choose cheap, poor quality, sometimes dangerous products. Less jobs in retail, empty shops, units filled with nail bars and vape shops.

The impact on the environment is also detrimental.

We are not making good choices ourselves, so bring in a levy.

France targets Shein and Temu with fast fashion fees https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2792pendro

Not enough people shop as a hobby to prevent the high street from falling into decline.

Isn't this already being done/ in progress? It was announced in June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforming-customs-rules-for-low-value-imports/reforming-the-customs-treatment-of-low-value-imports-into-the-uk

I’ve had some lovely clothes and other things from Temu and Shein at a fraction of the cost on the high street. Remember they’re both marketplaces with loads of different sellers - where do you think the high street shops get their goods? From China, India, Bangladesh, Taiwan. Temu and Shein merely cut out the middle man.

Same here. I’m keeping l what I buy for a long time.

Some of us can only afford Iceland 🤷‍♀️

So not true . It’s about the working practices of the manufacturers.You can have manufacturers abroad who meet UK/EU standards. They are not all the same.

Why don’t you focus on the dangerous and exploitative practices on your own doorstep, in your own neighbourhood, your own family, your own country.

What on earth do you mean by that? This thread is about specific companies.

Whether you buy in Shein or Temu or Primark or anywhere for that matter, I think the biggest reason clothes don't last long these days is that people are washing them every flipping day on a hot/long wash. No wonder they are falling to ribbons.

Most clothing just needs a refresh unless you're down the mines or doing hard physical labour, in which case you will have safety gear and more than likely suitable clothing supplied.

I wash all my outer clothing on a quick 15 minute wash. (Towels, sheets and undies get more before you all call me a minging Minnie). All come out fine and seem to last so much longer than when I shoved everything in for an hour or more. They don't need it. Our mothers and grannies just washed on a Monday by hand and used a mangle to squeeze the water out.

Save the planet and save water and your clothes.

I mean what I said. You’re talking about dangerous and exploitative practices upon workers in other countries, but you fail to see the things happening in this country. If you want to fight against oppression start on your own doorstep instead of virtue signalling about other countries’ industrial practices thousands of miles away. Plenty to be getting your teeth into over here, my friend 😉

Okay I’ll go solve all the world’s problems before I dare criticise Shein and Temu. Righto.

i do what I can to try not to add to the world’s problems and one of those things is avoiding shopping that is so cheap because few of the externalities are priced in.

There are loads of thriving high streets and market squares in Europe.

To name two countries…

We frequently visit Spain as my parents live there. We have travelled to many places. Plenty of shops, very few empty, whole range of products and clothing to buy. Certainly no vape shops or tacky nail bars. Lots of choice of decent quality clothing.

Same with The Netherlands, thriving markets stocking local food and flowers, loads of decent shops, chain and independent. Customers shopping, spending their money locally.

You mention France being particularly dire. Great news that France is addressing this with the levy.

Great to see such a large percentage of posters agree with a levy here.

If only. This company and it's egomaniac founder and owner Bezos, has simultaneously devastated many retail outlets in this country. Now one of the Worlds Ruling Digital Elite Clique.

The monopoly it had created for itself is terrifying. Not to mention. How it treats it's suppliers and employees.

Companies like this should be banned.

High streets have been in decline for at least 30 years if not more. Not sure SHEIN and TEMU caused it. From what I see on the high street it is the same low quality stuff as on TEMU just more expensive.

I use Vinted but also SHEIN/TEMU. I don't buy huge hauls and certainly don't throw things away after one wear - I'd have no clothes if I did that!

So fuck off to ‘Europe’ then. BTW the UK is also in Europe….

Honestly you sound so self absorbed. Me me me! No consideration for others circumstances at all!

This is part of a major and bizarre inconsistency. Particularly among people who think they are on the left or even socialists.

Up until really quite recently it was from people on the left that you heard criticism of free trade zones, economic globalism, and easy consumerism. On grounds of workers rights, environmental reasons, and so on.

All kinds of tariffs, taxes, and regulations were considered legitimate tools.

Then all of a sudden with Trump, the same people seem to think these tools and even these goals are evil. AMC it's not just, they don't think his specific policies are not going to be effective. It's like free trade is now seen as a leftist principle. Like globalism is now how you become anti-racist, or Euro skepticism is racist, or questioning big pharma or state education are now apparently far right.

Trump seems to have had the effect of turning the left into cheerleaders for everything they used to oppose.

We, as a society, have got lazy IMO - why drag yourself to the shops when you can have someone on minimum wage deliver to you?

Most things in shops are sold by staff on minimum wage.

I live in a rural town (not in the UK) and the shops here don't sell the sort of clothes I want to wear. I would be quite happy to "drag myself to the shops" and in fact did so this morning, but once again nothing to suit me. What do you suggest I do, short of spending money to go to the nearest city and then I'm not guaranteed to find anything I want to buy? I mostly buy from shops in this country who sell online.

Not lazy, busy. I’m currently on the train into London for work. I’ll be back at about 7pm. I have three children, one with severe additional needs. When I’m not working I’m cooking/cleaning/taking my children to their hobbies/taking my youngest to therapies/dealing with paperwork relating to him/fighting the LA for an appropriate school place. If I have any free time at all, I want to spend it with my family and friends, not trawling round shops for things they so often don’t have in stock.

I thought the UK has one of the lowest household spends on food in Europe, in part because our grocery sector is brutally competitive?

We do and we spend a lower percentage of our income on it but it is true that has been high levels of food price inflation in recent years - which has also been the case in other countries.

What a response!

As I said, I do spend time in Europe, I can’t see why we would not raise our standards here for everyone.

They can want it but if the majority don’t, then they don’t get it.

Temu, SHEIN et al haven’t killed the high street. A more viable alternative to the hell that is shopping was created and embraced by enough people, whether that’s Amazon or cheap Chinese imports.

Making out that people who want the high street are somehow deeper thinkers and less self absorbed is hilarious, when you want to punish others to get what you want.

People won’t suddenly change their habits even if the high street suddenly became alive again. There are many reasons why the high street died and you won’t force it back.