Christmas shoppers buying cheap gifts from Temu risk supporting forced labour, a senior MP has warned. Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, told the BBC she had long been concerned about the rise of the Chinese app and the risks it poses.
Temu, which was downloaded 19 million times in the UK in 2023, said it strictly prohibits the use of forced, penal or child labour. The warning follows a US government investigation that found an extremely high risk that products sold on the platform could have been made with forced labour. The US Senate Committee reported that Temu's only safeguard was requiring suppliers to agree to terms and conditions banning such practices.
Single mother Rina, 32, from Bedfordshire, said shopping on Temu had helped her save money for rent and bills. This Christmas she spent £100 on gifts, compared with £200-300 in previous years. She said she disregarded the negative stories because the prices were so low.
Ms Kearns called for greater scrutiny of the online marketplace to ensure consumers are not inadvertently contributing to the Uyghur genocide. She highlighted a lack of transparency in Temu's supply chain, saying the cheaper prices could rely on slave labour. She urged Temu to show its supply chain and prove it is not using Uyghur slave labour.
Anti-slavery charities echoed her concerns. Chloe Cranston from Anti-Slavery called for full transparency, while Andrew Wallis OBE of Unseen said consumers should ask whether goods are essentially made by slaves before giving them as Christmas gifts. Temu said all businesses must comply with regulatory standards and requirements, and that its merchants are obligated to follow applicable laws.
