Everyone wants to shop like a billionaire; but does everyone want to support forced labor?
When I wanted to buy socks and found some on Temu for $2.68, I was hooked. I had no problem when the app told me I couldn’t buy them until I had $15 worth of items. I ordered a long-sleeve shirt, some rings and sunglasses. When the package arrived a week later, I was disappointed with almost everything. The rings broke immediately. The shirt was made from a cheap and uncomfortable material and still lays in a drawer, unworn. The glasses were thin, scratched my face, and sat lopsided. Only the socks satisfied me, and even they looked like they wouldn’t last more than a few wears.
Temu, the US offshoot of Chinese e-commerce company Pinduoduo, was launched in 2022. It was an immediate hit in the US, becoming the most downloaded app in December of that year, according to Time Magazine.
Temu’s biggest appeal is that you can buy virtually anything for incredible prices, such as sunglasses for $4.94, a piano keyboard for $25.98, and LED lights for $5.94.
“The main reason for my choice to use Temu was the prices of many of the items, as well as the free shipping on almost all orders, and the mass amounts of coupons offered,” senior Jake Sawyer said.
It is hard to believe that Temu isn’t a scam, but items will generally arrive, though often not in the best quality.
“With each order, there is always the chance the item arrives damaged, which happened to two of [my] items on two separate occasions,” Sawyer said.
Sophomore Maya Perez-Martinez echoed a similar sentiment.
“The clothing could be better [quality]. Not all the clothing is amazing. It’s usually that plasticky feel, but [the] boxes or containers [are] pretty good,” Perez-Martinez said.
The lackluster quality of the products isn’t the only reason you shouldn’t buy from Temu.
The Council on Foreign Relations stated that since 2017, the Chinese government has been imprisoning more than 1 million Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group from China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang. Those not detained are subjected to intense surveillance, religious restrictions, forced sterilizations and forced labor.
The US Government considers this a genocide and, in 2022, passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which states “the import of all goods, wares, articles, or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, by forced labor from the People’s Republic of China and particularly any such goods, wares, articles, or merchandise produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, will be prohibited.”
According to Consumer News and Business Channel, the US House of Representatives found instances of products from Temu being sold or made with materials from the Xinjiang region, in direct violation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
I haven’t since my first time and will never buy items from Temu again. Temu’s magical prices aren’t worth supporting a corporation that participates in forced labor. Instead, if you need lower prices, I recommend shopping at local thrift stores, such as Savers in Redwood City or Thrift Center in San Carlos.