Experts claim Chinese firm Temu is causing a toxic carbon footprint by flying in cheap products to the UK in under a week – as well as adding to our throwaway culture
Experts have issued a warning over the huge environmental cost of cut-price goods sold by one of the world’s fastest growing websites. Temu (pronounced tee-moo) is an online marketplace and app – dubbed Amazon on steroids – that stocks millions of products at rock-bottom prices and claims it can help you ‘shop like a billionaire’.
It connects shoppers with third party sellers mainly based in China. But experts say it is creating a toxic carbon footprint by flying in cheap clothes, toys, make-up and other goods from its warehouses in China. Environmental scientist and founder of One Home, Angela Terry, said: “Flying is the worst way we can transport goods. If you do need to buy new products it is important to use sustainable firms that are as local as possible. Firms like Temu are making a fortune from wrecking our planet.”
A Mirror investigation has found how items can be at your door in less than a week. I ordered 10 items for £25.34, including two dresses, a lipstick, five pairs of socks and a dust pan and brush with no delivery fee. You can also buy a banana slicer and a lavatory roll holder that looks like a Polaroid camera.
But each 5,500-mile flight from China to London pumps out 175 tonnes of carbon emissions – the same as driving a car more than 560,000 miles.
Dr Patsy Perry from the Manchester Fashion Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University said: “We have seen a greater shift to air freight in fashion as speed is so important for retailers to be competitive in meeting consumer expectations for fast delivery of on-trend items. Flights are much more carbon-intensive than shipping, but that also contributes a lot to our carbon footprint overall.”
She added: “If we buy cheap fast fashion items from such websites but then decide they are then not suitable, it is also unlikely they will be returned due to the cost. Once disposed of the environmental damage of that freight journey was unnecessary, as well adding to our increasing problem of textile waste.
“Cheaply-made plastic household goods may not last long so are more likely to be disposed of, encouraging a throwaway culture and adding to our plastic waste crisis.”
Last year Temu was the most popular mobile shopping app in the UK, amassing more than 16 million downloads that year. Chinese rival SHEIN – the ultra fast-fashion firm – was second at around eight million downloads.
A relentless social media advertising blitz has helped Temu amass this vast customer base by selling T-shirts for just 68p on Black Friday. Many items can be up to 80 per cent cheaper than comparable goods on Amazon. Last year we imported £65bn worth of goods from China, with clothing making up nearly £3.5bn.
Founded in 2022, Temu is owned by conglomerate PDD Holding and keeps shoppers hooked on its app with games as well as a constant cycle of flash sales. There are now more than twice as many UK consumers regularly using Temu’s app than there are using those of Amazon or eBay, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Consumer group Which? Said: “Temu has exploded in popularity thanks to its prices but also its marketing strategy, which focuses on encouraging users to promote the app and its products. It has created a huge buzz by combining referrals, social media and a gamified way of shopping. Users can also share their referral links or codes on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.”
This appears to have made its way to reviews of the platform itself. When Which? checked reviews of Temu on Trustpilot in September 2023, a large number of those giving it five stars shared referral codes that allowed them to earn credits.
Another advantage Temu has is that, as an ecommerce firm delivering to the West, it’s exempt from export duties in China. Products, which are also incredibly cheap, nearly always escapes UK import duty, which only applies to orders worth £135 or more.
China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein operates a similar business model by shipping low-value, individually packaged consignments directly to customers’ homes. The firm is currently lobbying Chancellor Rachel Reeves to float on the stock market this year.
Online shopping giant Temu has also come under fire after a controversial advert showing cats being roughly handled during grooming sparked outrage among animal experts and celebrities.
The now-deleted Instagram clip showed cats being vigorously brushed with a rubber grooming mitt, with one feline clearly flinching as the tool was aggressively dragged through its fur at speed. In another scene, a tabby cat appeared visibly uncomfortable as clumps of fur were piled on its head for comedic effect.
Katie Gwilt, who runs the Kat Lady holistic grooming business, slammed the video and said: “This advert is completely inappropriate. It could encourage people to be rough with their pets, causing them unnecessary stress and discomfort.”
Last year Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee, said there was a risk some items were made with Uighur slave labour. Temu said the claims were “unfounded.”
US lawmakers have warned ‘there is an extremely high risk that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated with forced labour’ in a Congressional report published in June 2023. Since 2017, Chinese authorities in Xinjiang have detained an estimated one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in ‘re-education camps’, and it’s believed hundreds of thousands of ex-detainees are living in forced labour camps.
Temu told the US Congress that it conducts no audits and reports no compliance system but says it has a zero-tolerance policy for the use of forced, indentured or penal labour.
A spokesperson for Temu told the Daily Mirror: “Good value doesn’t have to mean poor, throwaway quality. We help UK shoppers save money by removing the middlemen—without cutting corners on quality. Our model lowers costs without lowering standards.
“We’re moving more fulfilment closer to customers, with a target for 80% of European sales to be shipped from within the region. That means faster delivery and fewer emissions from long-haul transport.”
In relation to the cat grooming, a spokesperson for Temu said: “We take all feedback seriously, and the ad has been taken down so we can review it internally.”
