If you can believe the company, the discounted procedure is based on “green fuel” for external transportation.
Photography: Fabian Strauch (Keystone)
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Dutch non-food retailer Action will soon open its first branch in Switzerland. As recently reported here. An outlet chain is followed Stokomani From France, which started with a store in Valais in 2023. In Media articles And Letters to the editor There has been criticism that new suppliers could flood Switzerland with cheap, environmentally harmful goods from Asia. This is exaggerated, and sometimes even arrogant.
There were times when low-cost suppliers had branches in the middle of city centres: they were called EPA and ABM and their primary goal was to offer household goods at low prices. The audience appreciated that – Even after the turn of the millennium, the golden age of department stores ended and the brands disappeared.
Anyone looking at branches of new providers may remember shopping at the EPA: you didn't always have the best quality purchase there. The goods were also transported from Hong Kong or Taiwan. The result: she could also have become a factory worker or a road builder.
Naturally, the question arises as to whether purchasing cheaper goods from the Far East is still appropriate in light of global warming. The answer is “Yes, but…”. The majority of Asian goods imported for retail sale in Europe arrive by ship – a more climate-friendly mode of transport than by plane. Do you believe the words of action?Rather, the group relies on “green fuel” for external transportation in order to reduce emissions.
Stay away from online retailers
E-commerce with China via online retailers such as Shein and Temu is even more damaging. Companies now occupy entire air cargo corridors in order to transport up to 5,000 tons of cheap goods to Europe every day. The best solution here is to make airlines pay for environmentally harmful emissions. They can then shift the costs to online marketplaces that pollute our environment.
However, it is not a good idea to point the finger at low-income people in Switzerland who buy cheaply from discount stores. Often you don't have a choice.
If you can afford it, it's better to invest in goods produced regionally according to sustainability standards – there's no doubt about it. But we must all turn away from CO2-driving online retailers who use psychological tricks and competitor pricing to fuel not only our consumer frenzy, but also the climate.
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– Discounts are not the devil – the problem is with Chinese online retailers
Work comes to Switzerland at low prices. If the product is well received, that's a good thing. It is better than transporting it by plane because of online trading.