Why I Don’t Recommend Anything from Temu

Every day, a post or comment pops up in Plant Hoarders Anonymous that says something like - “Look at this deal I found on Temu... grow lights for three dollar, my plants love them!”

And just as quickly, from now on, that post will disappear, and maybe you PHA Membership.

That’s not me simply being a grumpy asshole. It’s because Temu isn’t just another bargain bin. It’s a platform loaded with problems that I don’t want creeping into our plant community. Since the UG blog is where I usually unpack most of the “why” behind my perspectives, let’s dig in.

Products That Aren’t Built (or Tested) to Last

When you buy something, anything really, but for this post, a grow light, a humidifier, or maybe a digital smart plug, or digital timer, you expect it to be safe in your North American, Australian, or European home's power outlet. Many Temu electronics lack recognized UL, CSA, or ETL certification, the marks that tell you a product has been properly tested to various electrical standards. No mark means no guarantees on wiring, insulation, fusing, or heat management. And yes, that raises fire and shock risks. In some jurisdictions, selling or using uncertified electrical products is prohibited, and authorities warn that insurance claims can be denied when non-compliant equipment or unlicensed work is involved. Please contact your home fire insurer for any/all clarification on this for your policy.

On top of that, regulators have repeatedly flagged Temu for unsafe goods making it onto the platform at all, which should make anyone pause before trusting the house to a $3 grow bulb. 

Sources:

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/home-safety/electrical-products.html

https://apnews.com/article/temu-european-union-digital-services-act-caf2ba372cc0526a663d405868fd5819

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/14/battery-operated-items-from-temu-tested-by-choice-fail-australian-safety-standards

Human Exploitation in the Supply Chain

This is the part I can’t tiptoe around, forced labour and child labour

In June 2023, the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party published an interim report that laid it out bluntly, there’s an “extremely high risk” that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated by forced labour. Specifically, the report points to the Xinjiang region, where Uyghur Muslim communities are widely documented to be subjected to mass detention, surveillance, and coercive labour programs.

What did the investigation find about Temu’s safeguards? Essentially nothing. Unlike many global retailers that at least attempt audits or third-party checks, Temu admitted it has no meaningful system in place to trace its suppliers. Its entire “compliance program” boils down to asking factories to promise they aren’t using forced labour. No site visits, no independent verification, no consequences for lying.

That’s not stewardship; that’s willful blindness. And it means every purchase on Temu carries the risk of propping up a system that exploits some of the most vulnerable people on earth.

It’s not just an abstract concern. The Associated Press covered the report, noting that Temu imports tens of thousands of small parcels to U.S. buyers daily without meaningful checks. The loophole they exploited, known as the “de minimis” exemption, allowed packages under $800 to bypass normal customs inspections. This isn’t just clever shipping strategy. It means that products made with forced labour can slip into our homes disguised as bargains. As of Friday, August 29th this will change.

And if you’ve ever wondered why Temu’s prices seem impossibly low, here’s one answer: when the true cost of labour is stolen from workers, the price tag shrinks. But the human cost is enormous. Anyone who cares about human rights and equality should be concerned with products sold by many of these overseas manufacturers who sell through services like Temu.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/temu-shein-forced-labor-china-de7b5398c76fda58404abc6ec5684972

https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/press-releases/select-committee-releases-interim-findings-shein-temu-forced-labor

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-06-15/temu-sells-products-linked-to-forced-labor-in-china

You and Your Data Is The Product

Buying a cheap humidifier shouldn’t mean handing over your camera, microphone, contact list, and even banking data. Yet that’s exactly the kind of access Temu’s app has been flagged for requesting. Cybersecurity analysts have gone so far as to call it spyware-like in behaviour, because it doesn’t just ask for permissions, it asks for everything.

This isn’t paranoia. Multiple U.S. states, including Kentucky, Nebraska, Illinois, and New York, have launched lawsuits accusing Temu of embedding malware-style code in its app, enabling it to collect information far beyond what’s needed to process an order. Legal filings allege that Temu has the ability to exfiltrate virtually all private data on a device and even change its behaviour after installation to avoid detection. In plain English: once the app is on your phone, it may not just watch what you buy, it may watch you.

Now, let’s put that in perspective. Big names like Apple, Amazon, or Google also collect data. They track your browsing, your shopping history, your voice commands. But there’s a crucial difference: they’re bound by laws like the GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California, they publish transparency reports, and their apps are vetted through regulated app stores with at least some oversight. You may not love the fact that Google knows you’ve been Googling “best sunscreens for naked gardening,” but the process sits inside a framework with rules, audits, and opt-outs.

Temu doesn’t play in that regulated arena. Its parent company is based in China, outside the reach of most Western privacy laws, and the lawsuits argue there is little transparency around where the harvested data ends up. Security professionals worry that it could be passed along to third parties or even to foreign state entities.

So yes, Apple wants to sell you an iPhone, Amazon wants to nudge you toward more purchases, and Google wants to refine its ad targeting. That’s still a form of surveillance capitalism, but it’s not the same as installing an app that experts say can burrow into your device like a parasite. When you compare them side by side, Temu isn’t just another e-commerce platform. It’s a different league of risk altogether.

Sources:

https://www.csis.org/analysis/looking-beyond-tiktok-risks-temu

https://www.ag.ky.gov/Press%20Release%20Attachments/2025.07.17%20ACCEPTED%20Temu%20Complaint_Kentucky.pdf

https://ago.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/2025.06.06%20%20-%20Temu%20Complaint%20%28Final%20-%20File%20Stamped%29.pdf

https://www.wsj.com/articles/temu-lawsuits-pit-states-against-a-digital-superpower-6a1d6432

The Environmental Tab

Unlikely gardeners spend a lot of time thinking about cycles. We watch the seasons, we compost gardening and kitchen scraps, we reuse old nursery pots, and soil where we can. We save cuttings and propagate new plants instead of tossing the old ones, or simply buying new ones. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword in the garden, it’s usually just part of the process.

Temu’s business model points in the opposite direction. Those “$2 deals” don’t show up on your doorstep by magic. They arrive as part of millions of individual air-shipped parcels moving across the globe every single day. And here’s the catch: air freight is one of the most carbon-intensive ways to move goods, producing 20–30 times more CO₂ than sea freight for the same weight. In other words, that bargain watering can or cute little ceramic head that you just purchased may carry a bigger carbon footprint than your entire plant collection or veggie patch will offset anytime soon.

It’s not just this old man's theory, it’s happening. Reuters reported in 2024 that Temu (along with Shein) now accounts for roughly one-third of all global long-haul air cargo capacity, and that does not include TikTok, Alibaba, Wish, or independant drop shippers on sites like Etsy. Think about that: two ultra-cheap shopping apps are reshaping worldwide freight networks, pushing airlines to fly more, burn more fuel, and pump out more emissions. I won't even touch on their environmental practices to make the crap.

And then there’s the lifespan of the products themselves. Many Temu goods are built to be disposable. Thin plastics that crack after one season indoors or outdoors due to no UV protection. Cheap electronics that fail after a few months. Fabric planters that fray before your tomatoes finish ripening. The result is a stream of waste that no backyard compost pile, or city recycling program, can absorb.

Fast fashion has already taught us the environmental toll of overconsumption. The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global CO₂ emissions and generates tens of millions of tons of textile waste each year. Temu’s model extends that same “wear it once, toss it tomorrow” philosophy to every corner of the household, including products like garden footwear, knee pads, garden gloves, sun hats, overalls, macrame hangers, fabric bags, etc.

For gardeners, that’s more than ironic. We spend hours nurturing seedlings, stewarding soil health, and trying to give back to the earth. Propping up a business model that treats the planet as disposable undermines those efforts. A cheap deal may feel satisfying in the moment, but it leaves behind a trail of waste and emissions that outlasts any plants we grow.

Sources:

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/environmental-impact-of-temu

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/rise-fast-fashion-shein-temu-roils-global-air-cargo-industry-2024-02-21

Why The PHA Will Delete Future Temu Posts and Comments

Our plant and garden community thrives because it’s built on trust and shared values. When people come to Plant Hoarders Anonymous, they’re looking for advice they can rely on, products that work, won’t harm their plants, or the planet, and discussions that lift up and educate gardeners at every level. A Temu recommendation might look harmless on the surface, “Hey, check out these cheap plant shelves!” but behind that product image lurks a reality that clashes with everything we should stand for, or at least I hope we all want something similar to that ideal.

Here’s what that link really carries with it:

• Unsafe and uncertified products that can pose real risks in our homes and gardens.
• Human exploitation, including forced labour and child labour buried deep in supply chains.
• Spyware-like data practices that put your personal privacy in jeopardy.
• An enormous environmental footprint from waste and high-carbon shipping that runs counter to the sustainability we gardeners work so hard to protect.

That combination doesn’t fit inside our mission. PHA isn’t just about swapping plant tips, it’s about modelling a better way of growing and living. I want the members to feel confident that the advice, products, and resources they encounter in our community are safe, ethical, and aligned with the values of a community that cares about people and the planet.

So when you see that Temu light or shelving post vanish, remember: it’s not censorship, it’s principle. I'll be deleting those kind of recommendation posts and comments to protect our members, to keep the group free from exploitative marketing, and to reinforce what PHA is really about, growing plants, not fueling injustice.

(No sources needed here, this is 100% home grown.)

Wrapping It Up

There are plenty of good places to buy gardening gear: local nurseries, reputable online shops, or second-hand finds that give tools and other gardening gear a second life. They may cost a little more up front, but you know what you’re getting: safe, ethical, insurable, and built to last.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend you buy from Temu, so please don’t recommend Temu products in the PHA, and if you do, don’t expect those posts or comments to stick around very long. If you want to continue to buy their products and support their business practices feel free, that's up to you, but the PHA isn't a place that is going to help them in any way by providing any kind of exposure at all.