Finnish authorities, lawmakers concerned about flood of low-cost goods from China

THE SOARING POPULARITY of Chinese online retail giants has sparked concerns among authorities and lawmakers in Finland.

“Chinese online giants have rapidly expanded their footprint in the EU. Simultaneously many of them are neglecting their important, statutory obligations,” Tiina Vermaete, a senior officer at the Pirkanmaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre), stated on Monday.

Data from Finnish Customs reveal that the number of shipments from online retailers based outside the 27-country bloc have grown sixfold from the previous year, from roughly four million in 2023 to 25 million between January and November in 2024. Chinese e-commerce giants have dominated the space especially in low-cost items, accounting for 87 per cent of shipments with a value of less than 150 euros.

The Pirkanmaa ELY Centre highlighted that orders from Chinese retailers also generate concerns about the safety and sustainability of the items, as well as about the possibility that waste disposal charges are neglected.

Producer responsibility is a statutory obligation imposed on companies regardless of domicile to ensure, for example, the proper disposal of products, the ability of consumers to recycle products for free, and the ability to recover the raw materials at the end of the product life cycle. The responsibility has been neglected by the majority of overseas online retailers.

Vermaete reminded that non-compliant companies are effectively passing their obligations to others and making others foot the bill for waste disposal once their items have reached the end of their life cycle.

“Monitoring overseas online retailers is very challenging, and we are duly co-operating closely with authorities in other EU countries in search of means to make producers accountable,” she emphasised in the press release.

“It is equally important, however, that we all make responsible choices as consumers.”

Temu, a Chinese low-cost, ultra-fast retailer, has emerged as the most popular online store in rural parts of Finland, revealed a survey published earlier in November by Postnord. The Nordic postal service provider revealed that about a third of rural residents have placed an order with the online retailer in the past three months.

“Based on the survey, Temu seems to have become the corner shop for rural regions,” Linda Nyberg, the director of sales at Postnord Finland, summarised in a press release on 19 November.

Out of all adult respondents, a quarter stated that they have placed an order with Temu, which offers everything from cosmetics to clothing and furniture to technology gadgets sourced directly in China. Conducted between September and October 2024, the survey drew responses from 1,000 18–79-year-olds in Finland.

Temu emerged as the most popular online store among over 50-year-olds in the country also in the previous iteration of the survey, published in May 2024. The retailer has only cemented its leading position among the age group, according to the more recent survey.

The EU in October initiated formal proceedings against the online retailer under the digital services act, citing widespread concerns about counterfeit products, aggressive sales tactics and addictive design with game-like rewards.

Antti Kaikkonen, the chairperson of the Centre, floated the idea of imposing higher taxes on ultra-fast fashion and ultra-cheap goods in making the case for a new approach to tax policy to address irresponsible consumption in Oulu on Saturday.

“We need measures that limit the detrimental effects of fast fashion on the environment and our national economy. Otherwise the world will drown in ultra-fast fashion and other junk. Correspondingly we should cut the value-added tax on reusable commodities, such as repair services and second-hand products,” he was quoted saying by Helsingin Sanomat.

In Espoo, the newspaper has also reported, two councillors have expressed their concern about the high number of low-cost, ultra-fast items found in kindergartens across the city.

The Green League’s Saara Hyrkkö and Peppi Seppälä on 20 November announced they have submitted a written question to the city council to initiate debate about ways to curb the proliferation of such items in kindergartens, referring specifically to Temu and Shein, a Chinese ultra-fast fashion online retailer that has come under fire for violating copyrights, trampling on employee rights and placing a massive burden on the environment.

Seppälä reminded in a press release that products from the retailers have been found to contain excessive amounts of toxins. “Because EU regulation does not extend to these items, we have no information about their safety,” she said.

Business of Fashion in August reported that Shein’s emissions rose last year at nearly double the rate of its revenue, making it the highest emitting company in the fashion industry.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT