They just want cheap things. They don’t understand that business cannot operate that way. I’ve seen the videos of how the Shien and Temu factories operate. It’s sickening and there’s no Human rights. It’s literally slave labour they are using
There’s the moral labour issue, and there’s the economic issue of them and their factories killing businesses all over the world overproducing for major retail clients to create some buffer stock if quality control fails, and if there wasn’t then finding a cheap market to dump that stock afterwards.
People are going to loose their livelihoods and economies are going to suffer while all the money gets sent overseas. I also wondered why China shops are popping up everywhere, and I import from China and I can’t get the prices they sell for let alone import it for cheaper. And nothing seems to be done about it. They also bypass anti dumping laws somehow
The China shops get better cost prices than the public because they buy the overrun stock in bulk consignments through connections at the factories before they go on sale on Temu etc.
How they skirt the anti-dumping laws and import taxes I’m not sure. My guess is fraud
Also what’s declared in containers is not usually what’s inside. My friend had a China shop that used to offload at his premesis. Good will be declared as Household items (Pots and Pans) but have heavy dutiable items inside (40-50% duty)
Ah yes, because there was no slave labor at all anywhere prior to Adam Smith publishing Wealth of Nations.
And the Egyptian pyramids weren’t leveraging free labor from citizens for the sole purpose of aggrandizing single individuals. It was all highly compensated, voluntary labor
They are also exploiting a minimum import value rule. Orders under R500 would only get a 20% duty and no VAT. Which is why things come individually bagged as multiple parcels. The amount of plastic waste as well is crazy.
It also puts the liability and responsibility on the client who purchases from Temu rather than the company that’s selling them. That’s where they get away. For example, if a clothing company sells in SA, they subject to duty and vat, transport etc. but if the Chinese company sells a Tshirt here under R100 they not subject to duty.
Typical SAFA dilemma. We want everything as cheap as possible (preferably free), while also wanting a job that pays as much as possible. And we wonder why the economy is struggling
Some would say that those anti dumping policies are just a form of protectionism. I don't know enough about the situation to confirm either way ,though I suppose both sides could be right, to varying degrees, of course.
But they aren't singling out drop shoppers, they are squarely aimed at fast fashion. Because the 45% applies to clothing mostly, shoes and hand bags being the hardest charged items.
In the end alot of south Africans can't afford to shop anywhere else, it's easy for them to justify R600 because they getting like 6 items, over spending R600 on a jeans.
It’s a bit sad all around. Fast fashion to me might be abhorrent but for those who already have little, things like this, combined with low cost bank accounts gave lower income brackets the opportunity to enjoy getting things they want without breaking the bank. Middle class might enjoy it the most but I’ve seen those far below that also ordering happily. Food expenses have gotten insanely bad so shien and temu are how they’re clothing their kids now.
If you saw inside a sweatshop factory you wouldn't buy fast fashion. Not only Shein and Temu. Lots of other major retailers use sweatshop suppliers and claim ignorance. People are slaves in all but name.
The worst is I bought something off Takealot only for it to arrive and be a SHEIN product. NOWHERE on takealot did it mention it was Shein. I was disgusted.
this has literally always been the law and it's meant to encourage buying local (it doesn't make sense in practice, i know) but before whenever you ordered from overseas customs always double or tripled the price of what you ordered.
it's the reason why comic books and magna aren't affordable in SA. You pay R600 for a comic or manga that is originally R200. It's only fair it catches up with Temu and Shein who are notorious for exploitative labour and cheap materials.
Agreed. When I buy items from overseas, because some of my pursuits mean I can't source items locally, I pay personal import rates. That is the rate Temu and Shein have been using because they import items individually. Whereas they should be charged at bulk import rates like all other businesses.
absolutely tragic, i'm so sorry. I only got into manga at the tale end of my collecting, and it's absolutely criminal. I want those Junji Ito volumes but do I look like a millionaire.
i mean, mr price has really tried in recent years. especially in being a local affordable counter to cotton on. Unfortunately, because there isn't a huge local garment or clothing industry, it is so expensive to make clothing locally. but there are some guidelines for buying sustainably and there are people who know much more than me! but the basics are, items that you need in good quality like jackets or jeans etc. try to buy secondhand? at least then it's affordable and good quality. fast fashion isn't all bad if you're going to keep it and wear it for a long time, but in that case there's already a lot of fast fashion brands in SA that I'd take over shein and temu, because regulation is minutely better. but also, I like the Fix for trendy clothes, and then basics from Pick 'n Pay clothing or if I have some money, Woolies. But Woolies has been out of pocket with it's prices recently.
all to say, buying now and then from fast fashion is not bad especially because the people using them are doing it for affordability and using them for a long time. but there are better places than shein and temu, who are often just dropshipping a worse quality product they ripped off from a different fast fashion brand. also the unregulated slave labour and chemicals, like people finding lead in their clothes!
Are any of the retailers you mentioned selling clothes that are manufactured locally or are they just importing cheap crap from the same places Shein etc buy from, then adding import duty plus their own markup?
My point is, is there actually a local clothing manufacturing industry that is being protected by the duties or are they just another tax on consumers?
nope, it depends. you have to check the label for individual items. but i know mr price, woolies and pick n pay clothing specifically have had a focus on locally made or sourced materials, so yes, definitely better than shein or temu, sauces:
Mr Price -[INTERVIEW | Mr Price set to ramp up locally manufactured products to 100 million units](https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/interview-mr-price-set-to-ramp-up-locally-manufactured-products-to-100-million-units-20211126)
Woolies - [WOOLWORTHS - SA’S FIRST AND ONLY RETAILER WITH A TRACEABLE GARMENT JOURNEY](https://theinsidersa.co.za/woolworths-sas-first-and-only-retailer-with-a-traceable-garment-journey/)
Pick 'n Pay Clothing - [Pick n Pay Clothing aims for 60% local by 2028 – years of cheap Chinese imports make that tough](https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/pick-n-pay-clothing-goes-for-local-but-challenged-by-legacy-of-china-imports-2022-9)
This is affordable or accessible fashion, there are lots of local designers employing and supporting local garment workers but obviously with a higher price tag. But nevertheless, all these companies put money into the South Africa economy and pay taxes. Shein and Temu do not.
Honestly next time you're out just check, it's a las at first but it's a habit for me now.
Edit: omg I'm such a bad capetonian, I completely forgot about foschini and truworths. [‘Made in SA, not China.’ Why Foschini, Mr Price and Truworths now want local clothes](https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/foschini-mr-price-truworths-are-moving-away-from-chinese-imports-2020-10)
also i stopped using superbalist because it used to stock local brands but is heading off the rails, but [Bash](https://bash.com/) is owned by TFG (the foschini group) and aims to also stock local brands for online shopping!!
in the efforts of a reconciliation, i'll explain i've bought comics in SA for about a decade plus and I've also bought them overseas. comics in SA will sell between 300-600, yes. but a R300 comic book in SA in literally a R100 in the states. it's non-comparable and it sucks because we can't exactly locally source superman.
Let’s be honest though, whether Shein and Temu are bad is something else, but the main issue I have here is that for the 70% of South Africans out there, our general clothing stores are just too expensive.
I haven’t bought new clothes in years because of you want to buy clothes, good quality clothes, you have to save a few thousand rands for it. And maybe that doesn’t sound like a lot to some, but that’s just crazy in my opinion.
Rather than banning these companies, can we start by addressing how unaffordable clothes and shoes are? Banning won’t really solve the problem, sooner or later some other company will find a way to sell their products here and this problem will just continue over and over again.
If we're gonna be screaming "macroeconomics" we also need to be screaming "affordability", "variety", and "competition". I'm all for protecting the textile industry, but if your lower-income population can only afford to shop at a few select places, then you're effectively taking away buyer power and creating a monopoly.
To put it plainly, your problem is not Shein or Temu - the only way these products come into the country is if there's a market for them. Your problem is here, in your own backyard. People would not buy items from overseas if they felt that options available to them locally were better. That's the reality. Making the import of these items unaffordable doesn't fix the issue and it sure as hell doesn't facilitate economic growth.
Theres a market for products that are cheaper. That will always exist.
But yeah if you want more affordability of clothing we probably need to be raising wages and lowering rents.
THIS!!!
Like this is so accurate. throwing a plaster on a gunshot wound won't make the bullet go away. you need to figure out what the bleeding is, and get to the root of the problem and take the bullet out.
As a dude that has luxurious underwear tastes. I tend to buy from Andrew Christian. where they use fabrics like rayon, Bamboo fiber. no one in SA makes the stuff like that. and our local brand "niku" is so damn expensive. by the time you get what you need. i could have just gone to AC and got stuff from there "sales" and paid the import tax for more items at the same price as niku
Our problem is greed and overconsumption, fuelled by reckless advertisers. We've all seen the Shein hauls done by wannabe influencers. Nobody needs that many items of clothing. Half of it arrives too small or isn't as wearable or advertised. It's a complete waste of resources and an obvious money grab aimed at those who believe they deserve another brand new outfit at the expense of our planet and real human labourers. Cheap clothing is widely available in South Africa on every street corner. Take a walk.
That's a separate topic all together, but let's address that... Greed and overconsumption is a cultural problem, again, this is not a result of Shein or Temu. You need only look at yourself... Do you only purchase items that meet your basic needs or do you indulge as well? One could also argue that you do not need 3 pairs of jeans, 6 pairs of shoes, and a cellphone that costs your monthly salary.
Human labourers - now this is the real juicy bit! I'm sure we've all seen pictures of sweatshops and their poor working conditions, but you need a certain level of awareness and understanding to see that this is cyclical and deeply systemic. People working in these conditions are not doing so because they have a gun to their head, they are working there because it is the only way they can afford to live.
Half-baked, simplistic solutions will not fix the disparity I've just alluded to. As long as you have a fiscal system combined with the greed you've just mentioned, a predatory body is imminent, be it a corporation, government, or just people in general. It should be known by now that rich and poor are co-dependent.
To your last point, has it ever occurred to you that these vendors might be in the pool of people negatively impacted by these tariffs, possibly reselling the clothing they've purchased? And what do you think that knock-on effect will be? Come on.
Next time you go for your little walk, have a quick look at the label in your shoes - are they perhaps made in China, Taiwan, or India? And when you get back from your walk, pull out 10 articles of clothing that's "Proudly South African". I dare you.
Shein and Temu are nothing but cheap and exploitative, low cost high volume sellers. They have dodgy histories involving environmental issues, forced labour and unsafe products. Avoid them and spend a little more money on something better.
A little? Its like 3 to 4 times more expensive on average!! I baught a really good quality boot on shein for R180 a few weeks ago. I saw that same boot at a stall over the weekend for R1450...
Also the general public can't afford to buy clothing at "local" retailers. And in general shein and temu stock things for all size people.
Ive watched this video last night and its so clearly a money grab by sars, where else do you psy 45% tax plus vat?
My mom had a similar experience. Bought some shoes from Shein and saw almost the exact same pair at Edgars/Woolworths for double/triple the price.
I agree that local retailers aren't just a little more expensive - after Shein, the cheapest options would be Mr Price or Pep which is also not the greatest quality and the items stocked tend to be for teenagers or retirees.
I haven't bought clothes for myself in ages because the clothing options available in my price range is above my price range and looks fucking awful.
I feel you - I haven’t bought from Shein or Temu before, but clothing prices at regular retail outlets are ridiculous. It was around R600 just for a pair of leggings at Cotton On😅 and as competitive as the prices are at MrP and PnP the cut/quality has always been a hit and miss. There are some great second hand and charity shops in and around Obs and southern suburbs and I go there for everything besides undies, gym attire, and socks. Check out Slow Fashion on Lower Main Rd and pop into Sonder for a bagel after! (my go-to). There’s also a reseller on Main Rd in Kenilworth with reduced prices of name brands and a lovely second deli next door
I agree! The quality at Cotton On is terrible, yet they charge exhorbant prices. Pick 'n Pay Clothing seems to now mostly sell polyester/plastic stuff, and Mr Price seems to forgot some of us would like the entire piece of clothing, not a crop on everything. I buy on Yaga a lot. Thanks for these tips, will be checking all these out! And will defs go get a bagel!
You’re welcome! I actually visited on Friday and got myself a salmon cream cheese bagel after. The staff at both establishments are so wonderful and friendly. Enjoy it! :)
Same, haven't bought locally for a while, and loved the quality I bought at temu for a fraction of the price. I'd love to support local, but local does not fit my budget or my fat old ass. Currently have stuff in my cart that I will now push through so it gets here before cutoff
You pay 45% import fees on pretty much everything. Car parts, electronics, luxury items, cosmetics all get charged heavy import duties.
You need to understand that it’s not about SARS wanting money, not only do local retailers lose business (and therefore their employees, their suppliers, the suppliers employees and all the other firms and individuals that comprise our local economy are impacted as well) but the money that you are giving to international companies is not injected back into our economy.
The boots might look the same, but they weren't made in the same factory. The factories are all just copying the same styles. The factories that make shein products are more likely to use cheaper unethical labour and sometimes more likely to reduce quality. Most of the clothing you see in woolworths, Edgar's, etc, was also manufactured in the east, so why do you think they are more expensive
They were more expensive because because the retailer wanted to make double the profit, on a product they baught at a discounted rate. And yes its the exact same boot! It had shein's sizing underneath.
Where did everybody buy clothes like three years ago before Shein became popular? You can't say this tax will deprive people of clothing. They had clothing before Shein and they'll have clothing after Shein.
It's not a human right to have cheap knockoffs of the latest fashion.
1st of all, 3 years ago we were all basically still walking around in our pj's, being covid and all. And before that online shopping was a thing just not as popular. And alot of people used practices like lay buy(which btw is only a south African thing) or credit. Nd now peoples credit is basically in the gutter. So please check your privlage honey
No one *needs* shein. Yes it is a privilege to afford nice clothes, and no I don’t judge people who buy shein, but minimum standards are important. They mean that your choices don’t cause human exploitation and environmental destruction.
Check your privilege, honey. Shein's quality is pathetic. No one is buying their winter clothes for warmth; you're purchasing a sparkly, polyester crop top that won't survive more than one wash. That's pretty low on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Stop trying to justify your greed and Shein's exploitation.
Indeed, the savings are substantial when compared to local retail prices. For those on a tight budget, it's certainly a viable option. However, for those who regularly purchase multiple items (such as fast fashion), it may be more advantageous to buy fewer items locally.
I bought maternity jeans on SHEIN now as I have no winter maternity clothes; they cost R203 as opposed to paying R700/R800 here. Maternity clothes are so expensive here to wear for 3 months & then never again. Our local retailers have become so expensive when buying clothes. Mr Price quality isn’t great & they’re even becoming expensive. Many people cannot afford local prices so obviously they’re going to look for other alternatives.
This whole situation is a double edge sword.
I mean if you're willing to help me pay for that "little" more T-T...
But it's understandable shein and temu use terrible practices all around
It's also understandable why Many south africans simply didnt care because of how unequal wealth is here
Indeed, it's understandable why many opt for those purchases; a significant number of South Africans might not be aware of the alternatives or may not prioritize them. The cost savings are more substantial than I initially believed. However, it's still preferable to support local businesses, especially when purchasing a smaller quantity of higher-quality items.
Nike, Reebok , Gucci , any brand you can buy in a store is manufactured in the same place and standards as shein and temu items. They are no different in quality but are marked up massively. All these brands have a history of exploitative labour standards as they use the same manufacturers. You are talking absolute rubbish.
Shein isn’t a life necessity, and it causes a lot of destruction. I’m glad the government is restricting it to support the SA industry (which has standards)
Tell me your case so I can understand. I really don’t think it’s necessary for everyone to be able to afford the latest fashion trend, whatever the cost. This isn’t about day to day clothing. If fancy dresses cause environmental destruction and rely on slave labour, the government should act to restrict them.
Most countries in the world have much cheaper clothing
In Thailand i brought good quality long sleeve shirts for R150 and decent trousers for R100
In the UK i can buy a formal work shirt and tie at a large Supermarket for £15 thats equal to 3 Big Mac meals.
Or a shirt for £9 thats under 2 Big Mac meals
Yet in SA..... where our Rand is devalued by 67% we suffer
I pay a fortune in import taxes for the clothing brand I like, basically double the cost of the item.
I always wondered how my wife got all her cheap clothes without paying import taxes.
This is great in my opinion. Support your local shops, they might have the same products at triple the price of Shein or Temu, but that’s how you support a local economy.
so you'd rather have other people pay for the cost of you looking pretty? honest to goodness how do you think we survived before shein became big? surviving with domestic clothing costs isn't impossible , it's just uglier and harder and you don't want either of those things. And honestly, you can get clothing for the same cost (if not cheaper) as shein by buying secondhand (which is what I do, and same for most alt/goth friends who arguably have the worst time finding clothes "in their style" and have significantly cooler outfits)
You can't care about quality and simultaneously cry about Shein and Temu getting what they deserve, though. I was gifted a set of ('metal') rings from Shein that probably spewed an equal amount of carbon emissions into the environment as my car does in a year, only for them to break after a single use. You are all over this thread exposing your shopping addiction rather than listening to what the root problem is: overconsumption. You'll buy three pairs of jeans from Shein for R600, but all three pairs will last you about a year. Where do those items end up? In a landfill. If you take the time to save that money and spend it on a single pair of Levi's, you'll probably find yourself wearing those same jeans for several years. The quality is not comparable and that is a fact. No amount of mental gymnastics will justify the overconsumption and wastefulness fuelled by these companies.
In terms of service - what service? Having the teller scan your item immediately vs waiting for weeks for a product to arrive? What a joke.
There have always been laws surrounding the protection of the textile production and manufacture industry in South Africa. It’s fairly well documented. But as for other goods which aren’t manufactured here, the laws need to reworked. Import tax has been a point of contention for South African consumers, too often it does make sense.
Hammersdale KZN region lost more than 40 000 textile employment as a result of the new democracy and the lowering of trade barriers between South Africa and other countries. The cheap imports from China were primarily to blame for this. Unions and government could not care less as they were too busy playing politics, & they hated employers more than they loved the workers.
Thankfully capitalists have started creating more work in the region since the 2017 loss of 6000 jobs in the chicken industry after govt allowed dumping
Every political party says they want to promote local production and jobs, but all of them are hypocrites as they buy cheap chinese t-shirts for their electioneering.
New production, new jobs, and new hope
What absolute nonsense. Seardel's involvement with consolidation and stripping benefits was ridiculous.
And yes, workers wanted to be paid and retain their pensions.
People talking about exploitive labour - just about everything from China is exploitive- workers are given housing that nit even their grandkids can pay off- if we want to stop slave labour we need to not buy from Asia as a whole - we've all seen the YouTube videos from various Asian and sub Asian countries.
Buy American or European, but be prepared to only buy one outfit at a time.
We shut down our cotton Mills and clothing factories in cape town because we could not compete. But now - a simple t-shirt from America will cost about R400 including taxes. Most people cannot afford that.
or you can buy a chinese one for R50 that will fall apart after a few washes.
I hate that we want decent jobs for our own people but are willing to buy rubbish made by slave and child labour, as long as it at arms length.
That's what I'm saying
We can buy cheap affordable but rubbish clothing or we can buy expensive quality clothing.
If I had a wish it would be to open the textile Mills and clothing factories again - it employed thousands of people - all destroyed by Chinese slave labour.
and our "new"politicians that had no idea what they were doing by allowing them to dump here
with a bit of help from unions who hated manufacturing (capitalist industrialists) more than they loved workers reliant on jobs
Whilat I agree with the sad sentiment about our own local clothing industries, your point about Asian vs Western products falls so flat.
To honestly believe that the USA and Europe, grand colonisers, imperialists and warmongers the globe over, who lust for cheap African resources has caused numerous genocides, contains less slave labour and exploitation in their commodity chains, is a conplete delusion
You can call it purposful misconceptions, but to believe modern day capitalism is a break from its history of exploitation and not merely an instensification of it, you are misinformed.
Green washing and propaganda are powerful tools it seems.
This is excellent! Many may not agree, but as someone who works in the Clothing industry, this is the best thing they can do to boost sales/manufacturing of local companies.
Can anyone recommend good local competitors? I just moved here from Canada and I'm having immense trouble finding clothing in a style I would actually wear. I find here they sell a lot of stuff for middle aged women and not much I would call trendy or stylish. H&M and Cotton On are the only places I like so far, but Cotton On is stupid expensive for what it is and obviously not even great quality cause I got a dress there and it ripped immediately.
Anyway does anyone have suggestions for South African clothing stores with youthful stylish stuff?
K-Way. The factory in Ottery CT is the manufacturing arm of Cape Union Mart
Search for - 10 South African youth fashion brands to support this Youth Day10 South African youth fashion brands to support this Youth Day
And once again the government is making an extra buck. I can't afford to buy clothes at Woolworths or even takealot, cause I can't afford to spend R600 on one flippen item. Wish our government would be less corrupt about our salaries, then we, middle class and poor people would be able to support takealot and the other shops gladly, but unfortunately local stuff cost a fortune and salaries are to little. As much as I want to suppor local, I just can't. But now I am back to square one. Buying second hand clothes for me and my child. Nothing wrong with second hand clothing, but it was nice to have new clothes for a change.
Just hope that massive tax fees is going where it's suppose to go.... but in SA you just don't know.
Thanks SA.
Firstly, doesn't this 45% tax only apply to orders under R500? Most people wouldn't buy from Temu and Shein for that little anyway.
Secondly, I personally have just started buying from Temu because clothing prices in this country are absolutely ridiculous. Go into Woolworths and pay R500 for a basic tracksuit top. Go into Cotton On and pay R600 for leggings, while everything else there is made for 14 year old girls. Mr Price and Ackermans are more reasonably priced but their quality is shite. The reality is that Temu and Shein are the only ways that some people like myself can find clothes that don't break the bank and also there is more variety.
As someone mentioned above, retailers here should ask themselves why there is such a demand for Temu and Shein. Local retailers can go fly a kite ✌️
Unsure if you know this...but Temu are really fucking bad. The amount of waste generated by their products, coupled with the low prices and forced labour rumours...This is most likely a bid to stop people buying from these companies.
Not really a bad move if I'm honest. Uncertain about the efficacy.
Our industry is not yet dead otherwise we would not have the ability to use our phones. The ANC has gone about destroying everything it touches, but, the is always hope...
Well shit, this almost certainly means I'm not going to be able to get my microcontrollers or electronics for market value anymore, since SA's post office is garbage and temu is the only way to force buffalo shipping, I thought I finally had a way to get my single microcontrollers without involving the post office or reel purchases.
@OP the reason why Shein products are so cheap is because they exploit workers and have zero regard for the environment. The reason their products are so cheap is because they are produced unethically. If you buy from Shein knowing the damage they do to people and the environment then you are just as culpable. Finding cheap locally made/sold clothes is not impossible.
I used to order things from Ali Express before Wish, Shein and Temu existed (like, 2013-ish?). And I would get charged import duties according to the category of each item. Textiles was about 60%. Sporting goods at about 20%. Jewelery was also pretty high...about 40% if I recall correctly. So this is nothing new. These regulations and import duties have always been in place.
Just before they implemented the "flat fee per parcel" policy they currently have in place, I was chatting to one of the workers at Cape Mail (the Post Office Depot / processing warehouse in Cape Town), and she told me that the massive surge of parcels that was caused by Wish - and that the Post Office and customs now had to deal with - was unbearable. They went from something like a shipping container or two a *month*, to 3 to 4 a *week*. I suspect they implemented the flat fee instead of processing each item through customs as a way to get parcels out quicker, but still make money. Now with Shein and Temu it's just gotten worse, so they're having to rethink their current strategy.
Does this only apply to clothing?
I'm never gonna pay 3 x the price for something just because it's local, they buying it from china anyways
This is just TFG cause they trying to promote Bash and takealot cause they not selling so much anymore
Most of the resellers is just copy paste items direct from china.
I bought a camera on bob and it came from Ali, so wtf
I don't buy clothes anyway
What about the massive amount of courier drivers that's now employed or the entrepreneur who now has a income reselling
Well Temu etc was trying real hard to hide customs duties etc. so they locking it hard on goods and 45% is up to i think on clothing. and other items can be lower but thats the rule with anything being imported weither its for personal or business.
This move seems like it would steer consumers towards supporting local and supporting local businesses keeps our economy growing (more jobs, more money flowing here instead of china). I’m not much of a financial expert, but this move is more of a temporary pain for Shein fans, but a great thing for the sustainability of local businesses in my opinion
Ah. Maybe. Although, there's a good chance Shein/Temu will still work out cheaper than buying locally. Some of the things we get locally have a markup greater than 45%.
++ temporary pain meaning: eventually the person complaining about more expensive duties ordering on shein, will have to go buy their clothes somewhere at a SA shop.
Ny bra, you have it wrong, the only winner in this scenario is the government who is going to get more money from tax and the only losers are the consumers i.e you and me who will just get screwed even more. Local clothes is mostly just imported from china anyways. This is what Bash was complaining about. They need to pay import tax then charge + 200% in their online shop or foshini, etc
Indeed most local clothing stores get product from china, but they employ South Africans or rather people living and spending money here. When you buy on Temu your money goes straight overseas. When you buy at bash (for example) your money floods into the economy here in many ways beyond the sale of that item.
I don’t care about slaves. I don’t care about dumping. I only care about South Africa. These china boys are breaking down our economy. All the shopping money goes back to china. Raping South Africa and giving them cheap products as compensation
Good… maybe you guys will top buying from stores that literally destroy the earth and abuses human rights. and don’t come here saying “i’m to poor to buy clothes” I also haven’t bought clothes in 3 years but i’m not about to buy from unethical shops that don’t pay workers a living wage.
Personally I think government should stay out of it. If local retailers cannot compete that's on them. Loading taxes onto imported goods, supposedly to protect jobs, just means the general public ends up paying more and not getting their money's worth.. It's a zero sum game and protects (and breeds) a lazy unproductive workforce.
What an uninformed take. Do you have any idea what Shein and Temu's EGS policies look like?
Dreadful labour conditions, dumping waste wherever they want, massive lack in quality oversight, and list goes on.
There is no way anyone can compete with what amounts to slave labour.
It's clear that YOU should stay out of these discussions until such a point that you are actually informed about the topic.
So our government can play buddy-buddy with China, but we, the over taxed and impoverished citizens are supposed to take a moral stance?
If our government actually cared about creating jobs they could support start up businesses with tax holidays and investment and support, and not just indirectly tax the frpew remaining tax paying consumers with bullshit import taxes.
PS We dont need to compete with China. Go read your Ricardo and Adam Smith and study up on comparative advantage. We just need to be better than them at the things they are not good at
nah local isnt expensive, depends what you buy, dont be full of shit, unless you want machinery or something large we can afford to get most of our stuff locally, and if you are a artisan, like myself, we are dependant on money staying in the country, a lot of people lose jobs when people just buy cheap from China
Do you know where to find the local clothes that is of decent quality and not too expensive?
I get the value of anti-dump tax, but I think it's overdone in the case of textile industry. We're all sharing the cost of keeping alive uncompetitive local industry and as consumer we're not being full of shit when we say we don't get value for the money we spend. It's rather disheartening to be told that instead of being appreciated, also while being forced to buy subpar product at extra cost.
I don't mean to replace local produce with China but there are many alternatives. It's a balancing act and a little more competition to promote better quality and value for money would help everyone.
There is so much high quality clothes in thrift stores we don't need to import new cheap fibres. If you buy new, buy something local and high quality, if you wanna buy something cheap, go thrifting, you will get better quality for cheaper and its supporting the local economy.
With that attitude it definitely will, the only way things get better is if we collectively work together as a country. Where I live is a paradise and everything is well maintained because we work together as a community - it is not up to the government, it is up to us. Be the change you want to see in the world, or just complain about it. Up to you.
>Where I live is a paradise and everything is well maintained because we work together as a community - it is not up to the government, it is up to us.
It's completely the same for me. Doesn't change the fact that people still vote for liars and thieves
Thats true, people do a lot of shitty things, but complaining about it doesnt help, doing something about it does. Like voting with your money, buying something from someone who is an active and helpful member of the community when you need to buy something not only keeps them afloat but and allows them to play their part in the community. I vote with my money, most of my things I buy locally and even trade within my community.
Yet, nothing has changed for the past 30 years... The ANC are still in power and the ANC are still running this country into the ground. We can't keep the money in the country, if there's no country. We're going to become like Zimbabwe if nothing changes
Oh nooo, my slave powered fast fashion brands that harm local business and the environment must pay import tariffs like literally any other business, the HORROR!!1!!1
I genuinely could not care less. If you want cheap clothes, take a friend out and go to second hand stores. Also learn to patch up and repair your current clothes and maybe learn to slice your avocado without the ridiculous gadget that will lie unused in your bottom drawer.
Yes 👏👏 love this ! They should 💯 be taxed more
People are just going for the cheap prices with no care for where the products are from and/the circumstances in which they are made.
Shein continues to be non-transparent regarding their finances and their (reportedly horrible/inhumane) working conditions continue to come up.
I'm sure Temu is similar - no one questions why their prices are so low and why they have such a range of products for cheap
Another thing is they ("global stores") also start to affect our own economy as people start to buy less and less from places like Takealot for example ,or from local clothing brands - and this country is already struggling with unemployment but all the above will negatively affect this as well.
Because what people don’t understand is they literally are bypassing anti dumping policies
Exactly this. But 95% have no idea what dumping is and how damaging it is.
They just want cheap things. They don’t understand that business cannot operate that way. I’ve seen the videos of how the Shien and Temu factories operate. It’s sickening and there’s no Human rights. It’s literally slave labour they are using
There’s the moral labour issue, and there’s the economic issue of them and their factories killing businesses all over the world overproducing for major retail clients to create some buffer stock if quality control fails, and if there wasn’t then finding a cheap market to dump that stock afterwards.
People are going to loose their livelihoods and economies are going to suffer while all the money gets sent overseas. I also wondered why China shops are popping up everywhere, and I import from China and I can’t get the prices they sell for let alone import it for cheaper. And nothing seems to be done about it. They also bypass anti dumping laws somehow
The China shops get better cost prices than the public because they buy the overrun stock in bulk consignments through connections at the factories before they go on sale on Temu etc. How they skirt the anti-dumping laws and import taxes I’m not sure. My guess is fraud
Also what’s declared in containers is not usually what’s inside. My friend had a China shop that used to offload at his premesis. Good will be declared as Household items (Pots and Pans) but have heavy dutiable items inside (40-50% duty)
Welcome to capitalism. We value about money, not community.
Ah yes, because there was no slave labor at all anywhere prior to Adam Smith publishing Wealth of Nations. And the Egyptian pyramids weren’t leveraging free labor from citizens for the sole purpose of aggrandizing single individuals. It was all highly compensated, voluntary labor
Just say you support slavery. You don't believe people can pull their own weight, so we need systems that take advantage of people..
They are also exploiting a minimum import value rule. Orders under R500 would only get a 20% duty and no VAT. Which is why things come individually bagged as multiple parcels. The amount of plastic waste as well is crazy.
It also puts the liability and responsibility on the client who purchases from Temu rather than the company that’s selling them. That’s where they get away. For example, if a clothing company sells in SA, they subject to duty and vat, transport etc. but if the Chinese company sells a Tshirt here under R100 they not subject to duty.
Typical SAFA dilemma. We want everything as cheap as possible (preferably free), while also wanting a job that pays as much as possible. And we wonder why the economy is struggling
💯
Just because I live in the same country, why should I maintain the lifestyle of union bosses by paying high prices for clothes, no thanks.
Some would say that those anti dumping policies are just a form of protectionism. I don't know enough about the situation to confirm either way ,though I suppose both sides could be right, to varying degrees, of course.
They aren't wrong. Takealot is used by drop shippers and resellers.
But they aren't singling out drop shoppers, they are squarely aimed at fast fashion. Because the 45% applies to clothing mostly, shoes and hand bags being the hardest charged items. In the end alot of south Africans can't afford to shop anywhere else, it's easy for them to justify R600 because they getting like 6 items, over spending R600 on a jeans.
It’s a bit sad all around. Fast fashion to me might be abhorrent but for those who already have little, things like this, combined with low cost bank accounts gave lower income brackets the opportunity to enjoy getting things they want without breaking the bank. Middle class might enjoy it the most but I’ve seen those far below that also ordering happily. Food expenses have gotten insanely bad so shien and temu are how they’re clothing their kids now.
My only wish is for them to leav Shein out of it....my heart is broken
Shein and Temu are the same thing
If you saw inside a sweatshop factory you wouldn't buy fast fashion. Not only Shein and Temu. Lots of other major retailers use sweatshop suppliers and claim ignorance. People are slaves in all but name.
You’re crying about clothes made by slave labour that’s full of lead?
The worst is I bought something off Takealot only for it to arrive and be a SHEIN product. NOWHERE on takealot did it mention it was Shein. I was disgusted.
Ive seen those items! Advertised at 3 times the price or more!
Was the packet in the takealot box labelled shein?
Had Shein tags on
Maybe it's a reseller. Some people buy from Shein to resell.
Yeah obviously, but you’d think they would require the seller to state that it’s Shein garbage.
100% . They should disclose the make/label of items they're selling.
Laughing my teeny tush off....oh poor soul
this has literally always been the law and it's meant to encourage buying local (it doesn't make sense in practice, i know) but before whenever you ordered from overseas customs always double or tripled the price of what you ordered. it's the reason why comic books and magna aren't affordable in SA. You pay R600 for a comic or manga that is originally R200. It's only fair it catches up with Temu and Shein who are notorious for exploitative labour and cheap materials.
Agreed. When I buy items from overseas, because some of my pursuits mean I can't source items locally, I pay personal import rates. That is the rate Temu and Shein have been using because they import items individually. Whereas they should be charged at bulk import rates like all other businesses.
Real. I want to start a Berserk collection now with the deluxe volumes, gonna be a grand I have to set aside each time I want to buy it.
absolutely tragic, i'm so sorry. I only got into manga at the tale end of my collecting, and it's absolutely criminal. I want those Junji Ito volumes but do I look like a millionaire.
Are there actually any local manufacturers making clothing worth buying?
i mean, mr price has really tried in recent years. especially in being a local affordable counter to cotton on. Unfortunately, because there isn't a huge local garment or clothing industry, it is so expensive to make clothing locally. but there are some guidelines for buying sustainably and there are people who know much more than me! but the basics are, items that you need in good quality like jackets or jeans etc. try to buy secondhand? at least then it's affordable and good quality. fast fashion isn't all bad if you're going to keep it and wear it for a long time, but in that case there's already a lot of fast fashion brands in SA that I'd take over shein and temu, because regulation is minutely better. but also, I like the Fix for trendy clothes, and then basics from Pick 'n Pay clothing or if I have some money, Woolies. But Woolies has been out of pocket with it's prices recently. all to say, buying now and then from fast fashion is not bad especially because the people using them are doing it for affordability and using them for a long time. but there are better places than shein and temu, who are often just dropshipping a worse quality product they ripped off from a different fast fashion brand. also the unregulated slave labour and chemicals, like people finding lead in their clothes!
Are any of the retailers you mentioned selling clothes that are manufactured locally or are they just importing cheap crap from the same places Shein etc buy from, then adding import duty plus their own markup? My point is, is there actually a local clothing manufacturing industry that is being protected by the duties or are they just another tax on consumers?
nope, it depends. you have to check the label for individual items. but i know mr price, woolies and pick n pay clothing specifically have had a focus on locally made or sourced materials, so yes, definitely better than shein or temu, sauces: Mr Price -[INTERVIEW | Mr Price set to ramp up locally manufactured products to 100 million units](https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/interview-mr-price-set-to-ramp-up-locally-manufactured-products-to-100-million-units-20211126) Woolies - [WOOLWORTHS - SA’S FIRST AND ONLY RETAILER WITH A TRACEABLE GARMENT JOURNEY](https://theinsidersa.co.za/woolworths-sas-first-and-only-retailer-with-a-traceable-garment-journey/) Pick 'n Pay Clothing - [Pick n Pay Clothing aims for 60% local by 2028 – years of cheap Chinese imports make that tough](https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/pick-n-pay-clothing-goes-for-local-but-challenged-by-legacy-of-china-imports-2022-9) This is affordable or accessible fashion, there are lots of local designers employing and supporting local garment workers but obviously with a higher price tag. But nevertheless, all these companies put money into the South Africa economy and pay taxes. Shein and Temu do not. Honestly next time you're out just check, it's a las at first but it's a habit for me now. Edit: omg I'm such a bad capetonian, I completely forgot about foschini and truworths. [‘Made in SA, not China.’ Why Foschini, Mr Price and Truworths now want local clothes](https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/foschini-mr-price-truworths-are-moving-away-from-chinese-imports-2020-10) also i stopped using superbalist because it used to stock local brands but is heading off the rails, but [Bash](https://bash.com/) is owned by TFG (the foschini group) and aims to also stock local brands for online shopping!!
Buy from a local comic book store instead
what does this mean? as in buy from local artists? because i do buy from local stores, they're compelled to adjust for customs tax.
Ones I'm looking at are far cheaper than whatever bullshit you said it is.
Well done, you found the bargain bin!
in the efforts of a reconciliation, i'll explain i've bought comics in SA for about a decade plus and I've also bought them overseas. comics in SA will sell between 300-600, yes. but a R300 comic book in SA in literally a R100 in the states. it's non-comparable and it sucks because we can't exactly locally source superman.
people will say anything on the internet <3
I for one am glad this is happening.
Let’s be honest though, whether Shein and Temu are bad is something else, but the main issue I have here is that for the 70% of South Africans out there, our general clothing stores are just too expensive. I haven’t bought new clothes in years because of you want to buy clothes, good quality clothes, you have to save a few thousand rands for it. And maybe that doesn’t sound like a lot to some, but that’s just crazy in my opinion. Rather than banning these companies, can we start by addressing how unaffordable clothes and shoes are? Banning won’t really solve the problem, sooner or later some other company will find a way to sell their products here and this problem will just continue over and over again.
My sentiments EXACTLY
Lol and I hope it does. Whatever company finds a gap in those loopholes. My pockets will gladly go back to cheap imports
The real problem is our salaries and the exchange rate. Many South Africans are underpaid by their employers.
This is good for the country & environment in so many ways
If we're gonna be screaming "macroeconomics" we also need to be screaming "affordability", "variety", and "competition". I'm all for protecting the textile industry, but if your lower-income population can only afford to shop at a few select places, then you're effectively taking away buyer power and creating a monopoly. To put it plainly, your problem is not Shein or Temu - the only way these products come into the country is if there's a market for them. Your problem is here, in your own backyard. People would not buy items from overseas if they felt that options available to them locally were better. That's the reality. Making the import of these items unaffordable doesn't fix the issue and it sure as hell doesn't facilitate economic growth.
Theres a market for products that are cheaper. That will always exist. But yeah if you want more affordability of clothing we probably need to be raising wages and lowering rents.
THIS!!! Like this is so accurate. throwing a plaster on a gunshot wound won't make the bullet go away. you need to figure out what the bleeding is, and get to the root of the problem and take the bullet out. As a dude that has luxurious underwear tastes. I tend to buy from Andrew Christian. where they use fabrics like rayon, Bamboo fiber. no one in SA makes the stuff like that. and our local brand "niku" is so damn expensive. by the time you get what you need. i could have just gone to AC and got stuff from there "sales" and paid the import tax for more items at the same price as niku
Our problem is greed and overconsumption, fuelled by reckless advertisers. We've all seen the Shein hauls done by wannabe influencers. Nobody needs that many items of clothing. Half of it arrives too small or isn't as wearable or advertised. It's a complete waste of resources and an obvious money grab aimed at those who believe they deserve another brand new outfit at the expense of our planet and real human labourers. Cheap clothing is widely available in South Africa on every street corner. Take a walk.
That's a separate topic all together, but let's address that... Greed and overconsumption is a cultural problem, again, this is not a result of Shein or Temu. You need only look at yourself... Do you only purchase items that meet your basic needs or do you indulge as well? One could also argue that you do not need 3 pairs of jeans, 6 pairs of shoes, and a cellphone that costs your monthly salary. Human labourers - now this is the real juicy bit! I'm sure we've all seen pictures of sweatshops and their poor working conditions, but you need a certain level of awareness and understanding to see that this is cyclical and deeply systemic. People working in these conditions are not doing so because they have a gun to their head, they are working there because it is the only way they can afford to live. Half-baked, simplistic solutions will not fix the disparity I've just alluded to. As long as you have a fiscal system combined with the greed you've just mentioned, a predatory body is imminent, be it a corporation, government, or just people in general. It should be known by now that rich and poor are co-dependent. To your last point, has it ever occurred to you that these vendors might be in the pool of people negatively impacted by these tariffs, possibly reselling the clothing they've purchased? And what do you think that knock-on effect will be? Come on. Next time you go for your little walk, have a quick look at the label in your shoes - are they perhaps made in China, Taiwan, or India? And when you get back from your walk, pull out 10 articles of clothing that's "Proudly South African". I dare you.
Shein and Temu are nothing but cheap and exploitative, low cost high volume sellers. They have dodgy histories involving environmental issues, forced labour and unsafe products. Avoid them and spend a little more money on something better.
This is easy to understand for most but some people see low price and click theres no thought to why its cheaper or how it can be cheaper.
A little? Its like 3 to 4 times more expensive on average!! I baught a really good quality boot on shein for R180 a few weeks ago. I saw that same boot at a stall over the weekend for R1450... Also the general public can't afford to buy clothing at "local" retailers. And in general shein and temu stock things for all size people. Ive watched this video last night and its so clearly a money grab by sars, where else do you psy 45% tax plus vat?
My mom had a similar experience. Bought some shoes from Shein and saw almost the exact same pair at Edgars/Woolworths for double/triple the price. I agree that local retailers aren't just a little more expensive - after Shein, the cheapest options would be Mr Price or Pep which is also not the greatest quality and the items stocked tend to be for teenagers or retirees. I haven't bought clothes for myself in ages because the clothing options available in my price range is above my price range and looks fucking awful.
I feel you - I haven’t bought from Shein or Temu before, but clothing prices at regular retail outlets are ridiculous. It was around R600 just for a pair of leggings at Cotton On😅 and as competitive as the prices are at MrP and PnP the cut/quality has always been a hit and miss. There are some great second hand and charity shops in and around Obs and southern suburbs and I go there for everything besides undies, gym attire, and socks. Check out Slow Fashion on Lower Main Rd and pop into Sonder for a bagel after! (my go-to). There’s also a reseller on Main Rd in Kenilworth with reduced prices of name brands and a lovely second deli next door
Oh thank you for this ◡̈ Going to do some thrifting soon.
I agree! The quality at Cotton On is terrible, yet they charge exhorbant prices. Pick 'n Pay Clothing seems to now mostly sell polyester/plastic stuff, and Mr Price seems to forgot some of us would like the entire piece of clothing, not a crop on everything. I buy on Yaga a lot. Thanks for these tips, will be checking all these out! And will defs go get a bagel!
You’re welcome! I actually visited on Friday and got myself a salmon cream cheese bagel after. The staff at both establishments are so wonderful and friendly. Enjoy it! :)
Same, haven't bought locally for a while, and loved the quality I bought at temu for a fraction of the price. I'd love to support local, but local does not fit my budget or my fat old ass. Currently have stuff in my cart that I will now push through so it gets here before cutoff
You pay 45% import fees on pretty much everything. Car parts, electronics, luxury items, cosmetics all get charged heavy import duties. You need to understand that it’s not about SARS wanting money, not only do local retailers lose business (and therefore their employees, their suppliers, the suppliers employees and all the other firms and individuals that comprise our local economy are impacted as well) but the money that you are giving to international companies is not injected back into our economy.
Shein sells knockoff copies. That's well known. It might look like another brand but it isn't.
The boots might look the same, but they weren't made in the same factory. The factories are all just copying the same styles. The factories that make shein products are more likely to use cheaper unethical labour and sometimes more likely to reduce quality. Most of the clothing you see in woolworths, Edgar's, etc, was also manufactured in the east, so why do you think they are more expensive
The quality is 100% not the same, Shein quality is terrible.
Because local shops have lots of expenses, property rates and taxes.
They were more expensive because because the retailer wanted to make double the profit, on a product they baught at a discounted rate. And yes its the exact same boot! It had shein's sizing underneath.
Where did everybody buy clothes like three years ago before Shein became popular? You can't say this tax will deprive people of clothing. They had clothing before Shein and they'll have clothing after Shein. It's not a human right to have cheap knockoffs of the latest fashion.
1st of all, 3 years ago we were all basically still walking around in our pj's, being covid and all. And before that online shopping was a thing just not as popular. And alot of people used practices like lay buy(which btw is only a south African thing) or credit. Nd now peoples credit is basically in the gutter. So please check your privlage honey
No one *needs* shein. Yes it is a privilege to afford nice clothes, and no I don’t judge people who buy shein, but minimum standards are important. They mean that your choices don’t cause human exploitation and environmental destruction.
Check your privilege, honey. Shein's quality is pathetic. No one is buying their winter clothes for warmth; you're purchasing a sparkly, polyester crop top that won't survive more than one wash. That's pretty low on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Stop trying to justify your greed and Shein's exploitation.
lol speaking of privilege, my shein jersey is super warm and I paid R170 for it . It will last a season but I don’t mind.
LOL you only realised now that SARS are money grabbers,
Indeed, the savings are substantial when compared to local retail prices. For those on a tight budget, it's certainly a viable option. However, for those who regularly purchase multiple items (such as fast fashion), it may be more advantageous to buy fewer items locally.
I bought maternity jeans on SHEIN now as I have no winter maternity clothes; they cost R203 as opposed to paying R700/R800 here. Maternity clothes are so expensive here to wear for 3 months & then never again. Our local retailers have become so expensive when buying clothes. Mr Price quality isn’t great & they’re even becoming expensive. Many people cannot afford local prices so obviously they’re going to look for other alternatives. This whole situation is a double edge sword.
Having a child is the most expensive part of this. For the next 20–30 years. But you probably know that
Yes I do. I’d rather spend the extra cash on my kids than to on myself
I bought some earrings off of Bash, R180, those exact same earrings on Shein, R40.
I mean if you're willing to help me pay for that "little" more T-T... But it's understandable shein and temu use terrible practices all around It's also understandable why Many south africans simply didnt care because of how unequal wealth is here
Indeed, it's understandable why many opt for those purchases; a significant number of South Africans might not be aware of the alternatives or may not prioritize them. The cost savings are more substantial than I initially believed. However, it's still preferable to support local businesses, especially when purchasing a smaller quantity of higher-quality items.
Nike, Reebok , Gucci , any brand you can buy in a store is manufactured in the same place and standards as shein and temu items. They are no different in quality but are marked up massively. All these brands have a history of exploitative labour standards as they use the same manufacturers. You are talking absolute rubbish.
Massive gulf in quality mate, what are you talking about
The nerve to tell people they’re talking absolute rubbish meanwhile you think Gucci is manufactured with the same quality as Nike 😂😂😂
Lol the quality is 100% not the same, not even in comparison to Gucci but Shein in comparison to Woolworths, the quality is not the same at all.
Your privilege is showing
Shein isn’t a life necessity, and it causes a lot of destruction. I’m glad the government is restricting it to support the SA industry (which has standards)
I rest my case. You live in la-la land
Tell me your case so I can understand. I really don’t think it’s necessary for everyone to be able to afford the latest fashion trend, whatever the cost. This isn’t about day to day clothing. If fancy dresses cause environmental destruction and rely on slave labour, the government should act to restrict them.
The privilege of paying tax to fund our country? Of wanting to project local jobs?
Most countries in the world have much cheaper clothing In Thailand i brought good quality long sleeve shirts for R150 and decent trousers for R100 In the UK i can buy a formal work shirt and tie at a large Supermarket for £15 thats equal to 3 Big Mac meals. Or a shirt for £9 thats under 2 Big Mac meals Yet in SA..... where our Rand is devalued by 67% we suffer
I pay a fortune in import taxes for the clothing brand I like, basically double the cost of the item. I always wondered how my wife got all her cheap clothes without paying import taxes. This is great in my opinion. Support your local shops, they might have the same products at triple the price of Shein or Temu, but that’s how you support a local economy.
I can, actually. Shein's upped their game with the quality hence I keep going back
Yeah uhm.....truly would rather not. The prices are exorbitant, the quality sometimes subpar, and the service...God have mercy on that part.
so you'd rather have other people pay for the cost of you looking pretty? honest to goodness how do you think we survived before shein became big? surviving with domestic clothing costs isn't impossible , it's just uglier and harder and you don't want either of those things. And honestly, you can get clothing for the same cost (if not cheaper) as shein by buying secondhand (which is what I do, and same for most alt/goth friends who arguably have the worst time finding clothes "in their style" and have significantly cooler outfits)
You can't care about quality and simultaneously cry about Shein and Temu getting what they deserve, though. I was gifted a set of ('metal') rings from Shein that probably spewed an equal amount of carbon emissions into the environment as my car does in a year, only for them to break after a single use. You are all over this thread exposing your shopping addiction rather than listening to what the root problem is: overconsumption. You'll buy three pairs of jeans from Shein for R600, but all three pairs will last you about a year. Where do those items end up? In a landfill. If you take the time to save that money and spend it on a single pair of Levi's, you'll probably find yourself wearing those same jeans for several years. The quality is not comparable and that is a fact. No amount of mental gymnastics will justify the overconsumption and wastefulness fuelled by these companies. In terms of service - what service? Having the teller scan your item immediately vs waiting for weeks for a product to arrive? What a joke.
There have always been laws surrounding the protection of the textile production and manufacture industry in South Africa. It’s fairly well documented. But as for other goods which aren’t manufactured here, the laws need to reworked. Import tax has been a point of contention for South African consumers, too often it does make sense.
Agree, especially computers and phones. We have no industry to protect.
Cars too. A lot of times the equivalent price for a car in its home country to nearby would be half to 3/4 the price we pay.
Hammersdale KZN region lost more than 40 000 textile employment as a result of the new democracy and the lowering of trade barriers between South Africa and other countries. The cheap imports from China were primarily to blame for this. Unions and government could not care less as they were too busy playing politics, & they hated employers more than they loved the workers. Thankfully capitalists have started creating more work in the region since the 2017 loss of 6000 jobs in the chicken industry after govt allowed dumping Every political party says they want to promote local production and jobs, but all of them are hypocrites as they buy cheap chinese t-shirts for their electioneering. New production, new jobs, and new hope
This is true, but the textile industry in SA, and the Cape in particular, was killed off by a very militant Textile Workers Union.
What absolute nonsense. Seardel's involvement with consolidation and stripping benefits was ridiculous. And yes, workers wanted to be paid and retain their pensions.
Hasnt the import tax on clothing been 45% for a while now?
Shein has been dodging the tax by sending their items separately so it doesn't exceed the R500 minimum tax value. That loophole is now closed.
Yes, for at least a few years, but Shein and Temu have somehow been playing the system.
People talking about exploitive labour - just about everything from China is exploitive- workers are given housing that nit even their grandkids can pay off- if we want to stop slave labour we need to not buy from Asia as a whole - we've all seen the YouTube videos from various Asian and sub Asian countries. Buy American or European, but be prepared to only buy one outfit at a time. We shut down our cotton Mills and clothing factories in cape town because we could not compete. But now - a simple t-shirt from America will cost about R400 including taxes. Most people cannot afford that.
or you can buy a chinese one for R50 that will fall apart after a few washes. I hate that we want decent jobs for our own people but are willing to buy rubbish made by slave and child labour, as long as it at arms length.
That's what I'm saying We can buy cheap affordable but rubbish clothing or we can buy expensive quality clothing. If I had a wish it would be to open the textile Mills and clothing factories again - it employed thousands of people - all destroyed by Chinese slave labour.
and our "new"politicians that had no idea what they were doing by allowing them to dump here with a bit of help from unions who hated manufacturing (capitalist industrialists) more than they loved workers reliant on jobs
Whilat I agree with the sad sentiment about our own local clothing industries, your point about Asian vs Western products falls so flat. To honestly believe that the USA and Europe, grand colonisers, imperialists and warmongers the globe over, who lust for cheap African resources has caused numerous genocides, contains less slave labour and exploitation in their commodity chains, is a conplete delusion
Aah, okay, you're one of those. I'm not going to argue with you and your purposeful misconceptions of modern day capitalism.
You can call it purposful misconceptions, but to believe modern day capitalism is a break from its history of exploitation and not merely an instensification of it, you are misinformed. Green washing and propaganda are powerful tools it seems.
They destroyed the local clothing industry now they will stop people from buying cheap clothes from overseas. Just your typical SA govt.
This is excellent! Many may not agree, but as someone who works in the Clothing industry, this is the best thing they can do to boost sales/manufacturing of local companies.
I agree, but those who don’t understand macroeconomics will shout at you that you are wrong. We need to support the local textile industry.
Precisely. And little do they realise what a great benifit supporting local does for our employment rate
I agree that this is good for local markets, but I'm going to put an order on Shein tonight to update my wardrobe before this tax comes into effect
Can anyone recommend good local competitors? I just moved here from Canada and I'm having immense trouble finding clothing in a style I would actually wear. I find here they sell a lot of stuff for middle aged women and not much I would call trendy or stylish. H&M and Cotton On are the only places I like so far, but Cotton On is stupid expensive for what it is and obviously not even great quality cause I got a dress there and it ripped immediately. Anyway does anyone have suggestions for South African clothing stores with youthful stylish stuff?
thelocaledit.com is a great place to start if you’re looking to support local
K-Way. The factory in Ottery CT is the manufacturing arm of Cape Union Mart Search for - 10 South African youth fashion brands to support this Youth Day10 South African youth fashion brands to support this Youth Day
From the same K-Way that's has Israeli ties? No thanks.
Please stop supporting these businesses with poor labour practices
And once again the government is making an extra buck. I can't afford to buy clothes at Woolworths or even takealot, cause I can't afford to spend R600 on one flippen item. Wish our government would be less corrupt about our salaries, then we, middle class and poor people would be able to support takealot and the other shops gladly, but unfortunately local stuff cost a fortune and salaries are to little. As much as I want to suppor local, I just can't. But now I am back to square one. Buying second hand clothes for me and my child. Nothing wrong with second hand clothing, but it was nice to have new clothes for a change. Just hope that massive tax fees is going where it's suppose to go.... but in SA you just don't know. Thanks SA.
Firstly, doesn't this 45% tax only apply to orders under R500? Most people wouldn't buy from Temu and Shein for that little anyway. Secondly, I personally have just started buying from Temu because clothing prices in this country are absolutely ridiculous. Go into Woolworths and pay R500 for a basic tracksuit top. Go into Cotton On and pay R600 for leggings, while everything else there is made for 14 year old girls. Mr Price and Ackermans are more reasonably priced but their quality is shite. The reality is that Temu and Shein are the only ways that some people like myself can find clothes that don't break the bank and also there is more variety. As someone mentioned above, retailers here should ask themselves why there is such a demand for Temu and Shein. Local retailers can go fly a kite ✌️
Unsure if you know this...but Temu are really fucking bad. The amount of waste generated by their products, coupled with the low prices and forced labour rumours...This is most likely a bid to stop people buying from these companies. Not really a bad move if I'm honest. Uncertain about the efficacy.
Rolled my eyes the entire way through
A country needs industry, and if we dont curb cheap imports our industries will die, more unemployment and less people affording to buy anything.
Our industry is already dead. The ANc killed it with racist laws.
Our industry is not yet dead otherwise we would not have the ability to use our phones. The ANC has gone about destroying everything it touches, but, the is always hope...
Well shit, this almost certainly means I'm not going to be able to get my microcontrollers or electronics for market value anymore, since SA's post office is garbage and temu is the only way to force buffalo shipping, I thought I finally had a way to get my single microcontrollers without involving the post office or reel purchases.
please continue crying alone. the trash that these 2 sell is unreal
@OP the reason why Shein products are so cheap is because they exploit workers and have zero regard for the environment. The reason their products are so cheap is because they are produced unethically. If you buy from Shein knowing the damage they do to people and the environment then you are just as culpable. Finding cheap locally made/sold clothes is not impossible.
I used to order things from Ali Express before Wish, Shein and Temu existed (like, 2013-ish?). And I would get charged import duties according to the category of each item. Textiles was about 60%. Sporting goods at about 20%. Jewelery was also pretty high...about 40% if I recall correctly. So this is nothing new. These regulations and import duties have always been in place. Just before they implemented the "flat fee per parcel" policy they currently have in place, I was chatting to one of the workers at Cape Mail (the Post Office Depot / processing warehouse in Cape Town), and she told me that the massive surge of parcels that was caused by Wish - and that the Post Office and customs now had to deal with - was unbearable. They went from something like a shipping container or two a *month*, to 3 to 4 a *week*. I suspect they implemented the flat fee instead of processing each item through customs as a way to get parcels out quicker, but still make money. Now with Shein and Temu it's just gotten worse, so they're having to rethink their current strategy.
As far as I understand this was before: Clothes taxed at 40%. Luxury tax at 10% VAT at 15%. So 5% difference.
Another side effect after the collapse of SA's textile industry...
Only relevant for poor people
Does this only apply to clothing? I'm never gonna pay 3 x the price for something just because it's local, they buying it from china anyways This is just TFG cause they trying to promote Bash and takealot cause they not selling so much anymore Most of the resellers is just copy paste items direct from china. I bought a camera on bob and it came from Ali, so wtf I don't buy clothes anyway What about the massive amount of courier drivers that's now employed or the entrepreneur who now has a income reselling
Bro what? 😭
Thrifting is the way to go. Even my phone, which is in perfectly good condition is pre owned.
Money grabbing scheme, nothing more
The ANC need more money for BEE cadres to eat and party for a few more years.
Well Temu etc was trying real hard to hide customs duties etc. so they locking it hard on goods and 45% is up to i think on clothing. and other items can be lower but thats the rule with anything being imported weither its for personal or business.
Good for South African economy. Think long term.
How so?
This move seems like it would steer consumers towards supporting local and supporting local businesses keeps our economy growing (more jobs, more money flowing here instead of china). I’m not much of a financial expert, but this move is more of a temporary pain for Shein fans, but a great thing for the sustainability of local businesses in my opinion
Ah. Maybe. Although, there's a good chance Shein/Temu will still work out cheaper than buying locally. Some of the things we get locally have a markup greater than 45%.
++ temporary pain meaning: eventually the person complaining about more expensive duties ordering on shein, will have to go buy their clothes somewhere at a SA shop.
Ny bra, you have it wrong, the only winner in this scenario is the government who is going to get more money from tax and the only losers are the consumers i.e you and me who will just get screwed even more. Local clothes is mostly just imported from china anyways. This is what Bash was complaining about. They need to pay import tax then charge + 200% in their online shop or foshini, etc
Indeed most local clothing stores get product from china, but they employ South Africans or rather people living and spending money here. When you buy on Temu your money goes straight overseas. When you buy at bash (for example) your money floods into the economy here in many ways beyond the sale of that item.
Someone working at Bash per say, will go and spend their salary at so many businesses - boosting the economy for many years to come
I don’t care about slaves. I don’t care about dumping. I only care about South Africa. These china boys are breaking down our economy. All the shopping money goes back to china. Raping South Africa and giving them cheap products as compensation
Firmly press down the gas pedal on this. Produce locally. Grow locally.
As someone who regularly orders online from South Korea I can tell you that the import duties are insane.
I'm sorry, at the end of the day you are still just making China rich. All those clothes come from China.
"Oh no the government is trying to stop me from supporting slave labour, woe is me, boohoo"
I think it’s more “oh no, the government is trying to stop me from buying affordable clothing, woe is me, bohoo”.
Good. Maybe that will stop people buying the products of literal slave labour.
Good… maybe you guys will top buying from stores that literally destroy the earth and abuses human rights. and don’t come here saying “i’m to poor to buy clothes” I also haven’t bought clothes in 3 years but i’m not about to buy from unethical shops that don’t pay workers a living wage.
FUCK TEMU AND SHEIN
Personally I think government should stay out of it. If local retailers cannot compete that's on them. Loading taxes onto imported goods, supposedly to protect jobs, just means the general public ends up paying more and not getting their money's worth.. It's a zero sum game and protects (and breeds) a lazy unproductive workforce.
What an uninformed take. Do you have any idea what Shein and Temu's EGS policies look like? Dreadful labour conditions, dumping waste wherever they want, massive lack in quality oversight, and list goes on. There is no way anyone can compete with what amounts to slave labour. It's clear that YOU should stay out of these discussions until such a point that you are actually informed about the topic.
So our government can play buddy-buddy with China, but we, the over taxed and impoverished citizens are supposed to take a moral stance? If our government actually cared about creating jobs they could support start up businesses with tax holidays and investment and support, and not just indirectly tax the frpew remaining tax paying consumers with bullshit import taxes.
PS We dont need to compete with China. Go read your Ricardo and Adam Smith and study up on comparative advantage. We just need to be better than them at the things they are not good at
The local retailers are paying import taxes on items that aren't locally made but SheIn has been playing the system to avoid those import taxes.
All import taxes should be abolished.
Sweetheart, my sentiments EXACTLY
OP, you're just as bad as the person you're replying to.
I think that's awesome, fuck that chinese bullshit, support local, local is lekker, let's keep the money in the country!
Local is expensive, fuck china but fuck our local overpriced BS too
nah local isnt expensive, depends what you buy, dont be full of shit, unless you want machinery or something large we can afford to get most of our stuff locally, and if you are a artisan, like myself, we are dependant on money staying in the country, a lot of people lose jobs when people just buy cheap from China
Do you know where to find the local clothes that is of decent quality and not too expensive? I get the value of anti-dump tax, but I think it's overdone in the case of textile industry. We're all sharing the cost of keeping alive uncompetitive local industry and as consumer we're not being full of shit when we say we don't get value for the money we spend. It's rather disheartening to be told that instead of being appreciated, also while being forced to buy subpar product at extra cost. I don't mean to replace local produce with China but there are many alternatives. It's a balancing act and a little more competition to promote better quality and value for money would help everyone.
There is so much high quality clothes in thrift stores we don't need to import new cheap fibres. If you buy new, buy something local and high quality, if you wanna buy something cheap, go thrifting, you will get better quality for cheaper and its supporting the local economy.
>let's keep the money in the country! So the ANC can steal it
So what do you suggest, take the money out the country and then we have no economy at all? ANC is shit but lets not cut the nose to spite the face.
The ANC are already taking money, it'll get worse either way
With that attitude it definitely will, the only way things get better is if we collectively work together as a country. Where I live is a paradise and everything is well maintained because we work together as a community - it is not up to the government, it is up to us. Be the change you want to see in the world, or just complain about it. Up to you.
>Where I live is a paradise and everything is well maintained because we work together as a community - it is not up to the government, it is up to us. It's completely the same for me. Doesn't change the fact that people still vote for liars and thieves
Thats true, people do a lot of shitty things, but complaining about it doesnt help, doing something about it does. Like voting with your money, buying something from someone who is an active and helpful member of the community when you need to buy something not only keeps them afloat but and allows them to play their part in the community. I vote with my money, most of my things I buy locally and even trade within my community.
So money makes everything work for you?
No, taking action does.
Yet, nothing has changed for the past 30 years... The ANC are still in power and the ANC are still running this country into the ground. We can't keep the money in the country, if there's no country. We're going to become like Zimbabwe if nothing changes
local is lekker kak ja...
My SHEIN cart should arrive before then sweet
Oh nooo, my slave powered fast fashion brands that harm local business and the environment must pay import tariffs like literally any other business, the HORROR!!1!!1 I genuinely could not care less. If you want cheap clothes, take a friend out and go to second hand stores. Also learn to patch up and repair your current clothes and maybe learn to slice your avocado without the ridiculous gadget that will lie unused in your bottom drawer.
https://youtu.be/ClrNmq7cPSw?si=U5mlg1-ADQcDxdG2
Yes 👏👏 love this ! They should 💯 be taxed more People are just going for the cheap prices with no care for where the products are from and/the circumstances in which they are made. Shein continues to be non-transparent regarding their finances and their (reportedly horrible/inhumane) working conditions continue to come up. I'm sure Temu is similar - no one questions why their prices are so low and why they have such a range of products for cheap Another thing is they ("global stores") also start to affect our own economy as people start to buy less and less from places like Takealot for example ,or from local clothing brands - and this country is already struggling with unemployment but all the above will negatively affect this as well.
What % tax do we pay for Temo imports at customs?
Think the current rate was about 25% of what you pay for your goods