[Havoc]

Interesting. Recently ordered from them for giggles just because the pricing was crazy yet people seem to be getting their stuff. Even mentioned to a friend that something feels very off commercially here - like something is aggressively subsidised.

Also Noticed that they were specifically pushing in app purchases hard with discounts etc.

…but didn’t connect the dots between those two odd things.

[gigofogfi]

"Is Temu Ethical?

No, Temu is not an ethical brand.

A U.S. Congressional Report from June 2023 raised alarming concerns about Temu and Shein’s potential links to forced labor. The report highlighted an “extremely high risk” of products on Temu being associated with forced labor, and the committee expressed particular worry about the exploitation of U.S. de minimis provisions by both companies. The de minimis threshold of $800 allows goods below this value to enter the country without inspection, which could contribute to potential issues with labor practices.

Furthermore, the report revealed that Temu lacks a specific policy against goods made in Xinjiang, where evidence suggests forced labor may occur."

https://yoursustainableguide.com/is-temu-ethical/

[eternityforest]

Are Walmart and Amazon just as bad? I've heard differing opinions on whether it's like Slaves R Us, or if it's just like anywhere else, where there's probably a few slave labor produced goods included.

[Havoc]

Ouch. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

[czDRZ-akk]

The only thing that Temu subsidizes is shipping, the pricing itself is normal. Temu is essentially a window for US consumers to see what the average Chinese consumer is used to. You can directly compare products and prices between Taobao and Temu; the pricing is similar, with Temu typically being a bit more expensive even with discounts.

Even with shipping, it’s unclear exactly how much Temu would actually be losing per order depending on how efficient their distribution network is.

[maxrecursion]

If something seems to good to be true it probably is. I agree with the people saying the article isn't the best, but TEMU selling products so cheap because the main product is the data taken from the customers phones who installed the app, makes more sense than this random company can sell products so cheaply, for reasons unknown.

Clearly China has been proven to be untrustworthy when it comes to their technology, apps included, so I tend to do the opposite of give them the benefit of the doubt, and just assume their apps are untrustworthy by default.