In 2023, the Chinese app was downloaded 19 million times in the United Kingdom. It is well-known for offering an extensive selection of clothing, toys, and electronic devices at extremely low costs.
On the other hand, Alicia Kearns, who is the head of the select committee concerning international affairs, stated to the BBC that she has “long been concerned about the rise of Temu and the risks it poses.”
It has been stated by Temu that it “strictly prohibits” the employment of child labor, forced labor, or criminal labor.
Following an examination conducted by the United States government, which discovered a “extremely high risk” that products offered on Temu could have been manufactured using forced labor, the warning was issued.
According to the report of the Senate Committee, the sole action that Temu took to prevent this from occurring was to urge that suppliers agree to terms and conditions that ban the use of forced labor.
“Shop as if you were a billionaire.”
The Chinese e-commerce company Pinduoduo is the backer of Temu, which was launched in the United States in the year 2022.
Since its inception in the United Kingdom earlier in 2023, Temu’s has consistently topped the rankings for app downloads. According to information provided to the BBC by data analyst Sensor Tower, the application has a total of nine million users on a monthly basis.
The online marketplace with the slogan “shop like a billionaire” gives customers the opportunity to purchase products directly from Chinese producers at rates that are as low as possible.
He told the BBC that it had helped “numerous families mitigate the impact of rising living costs” by providing more cheap options for products that are used on a daily basis.
Video recordings of Rina, a single mother, unpacking Temu orders have been uploaded to the internet.
Rina, who is a single mother, is in agreement. Following her experience of watching unboxing videos of individuals opening goods on the internet, she began using Temu.
The woman, who is 32 years old and lives in Bedfordshire with her kid, who is four years old, claims that that purchasing on the Chinese marketplace has assisted her in saving money that she can use to pay her bills and rent.
“You know, there are moments when I feel bad, but I have to put myself first in order to prioritize myself… When my son asks me for something, it is something that I do not enjoy. Rina continues, “I would like to have some money in order to purchase it.”
During the years prior to Temu, she spent between two hundred and three hundred pounds on gifts, but she claims that she only spent one hundred pounds on presents this Christmas.
I need to be on the lookout for a good deal because I am a single mother. Initially, it is frightening, but it is quite inexpensive. Therefore, I choose to ignore the negative aspects.
Rina posts a video from her shopping trip on YouTube, in which she mentions that Temu approached her and offered her one hundred pounds to record an unpacking video.
“Overwhelmed by advertisements, ”
The corporation has spent millions of dollars on marketing, which includes brand collaborations with internet influencers, advertisements on social media, and even a thirty-second spot during this year’s Super Bowl. It is known that the price of a prominent television slot such as this one may be as high as five million dollars (three and a half million pounds).
The presence of Temu in online search is enormous, as evidenced by the fact that products from the website are routinely ranked among the top results when customers use a search engine to look for a certain item.
According to Alicia Kearns, a member of parliament, she has been “inundated” with advertisements for Temu, and she has stated to the BBC that “it has been difficult to get away from them.”
In order to ensure that “consumers are not inadvertently contributing to the Uyghur genocide,” she is advocating for a more stringent examination of the online marketplace.