The online market is everything.
Whether it’s buying clothes, toys or appliances, there are easy ways to buy them, ethical or not.
Stores such as Temu, SHEIN and an online shop built into TikTok have lower prices to offer. At first thought, this spontaneous wave of cheap commodities is convenient – just convenient enough for anyone to ignore the sketchiness of it. Online retail already takes a large majority of sales in almost every category from clothes to knock off toys and decorations, but it is not as safe as consumers might think.
Outside of The U.S., there are companies that manufacture their own goods, like Temu, which has grown in popularity and became 2024’s most downloaded app so far. There have been countless scandals involving Temu and its involvement with actual child labor, yet the company stays in business because of their cheap prices. Purchasing from these websites is inexcusable, but with newer and cheaper products, Temu makes it more likely for customers to impulsively buy things they don’t need.
Buying clothes online from untrustworthy sellers is also harmful for your physical and mental health. Your skin absorbs materials through your clothes and can cause long-term effects. The many hazardous chemicals seen in sweatshops and textile factories are making contact with the skin every time someone wears something from SHIEN or Temu.
Mental health is also something to consider, as online shopping puts many in a cycle of “never enough.” The TikTok Shop is absolute proof of this. In an attempt to make a few bucks, I see countless videos where someone is talking about this “viral” sweater that “everyone needs” just for it to forward to the TikTok Shop, where the astonishing price further seduces the viewer in a sense of “missing out.”
Buying online can’t be easily avoided, so consumers should stick to well-known retailers that can be easily looked into, or, if going the extra mile is a viable option, try personal merchant websites like eBay or Etsy. Retailers like these offer more personalized products from smaller companies, in exchange for a price increase compared to this new wave of online shops.
Online shops still continue to put out products that lead to the buyers’ worsening physical and mental health. The money goes toward profiting in foreign countries, usually exploiting poor working conditions and child labor.
As teenagers, we should recognize that if something on a foreign website is too good to be true, it absolutely is.
