Shopper infuriated after discovering major scam in product they purchased: 'Are you kidding me?'

One environmentally conscious shopper felt betrayed to learn that the so-called sustainable scrub brushes they bought from a local shop actually came from online retail giant Temu.

They vented about it on the r/Anticonsumption subreddit. "In a bid to reduce plastic waste and seek out non plastic alternatives … why does the bloody end result always come back to unethical practices!" the original poster wrote. "One of our local brands which prides itself on values and ethics stocks a supplier which imports from Temu."

The OP included photos of the two seemingly identical listings. "It just feels like the whole system is broken (probably because it is)," they lamented.

Commenters were similarly dismayed. "I have been paying an insane amount for this same scrub brush from a fancy homesteading boutique," one person exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?"

Others had encountered similarly suspicious listings. "I found that most of the zero waste cleaning brushes sold by amazon and even plenty of zero waste shops were the same product, all sourced from china," one person said. "They just print a different logo."

But one Redditor shared a different perspective. "Theyre probably just very similar because it's not a unique invention and lots of similar products will be on the market," they wrote.

Another commenter echoed this sentiment, saying that the items differed so obviously in quality that they could never be mistaken for each other. "The Temu version is ALWAYS not as described online and made of cheap s***** materials that fall apart quickly," they explained. "Just because two images look the same doesn't mean they're even remotely close to the same product."

But even with the most ethically sourced products, one commenter pointed out, there is a certain irony in buying something new to generate less waste. Instead, they suggested, "Use what you already have."

Another Redditor agreed: "These scrub brushes are greenwashing anyway. Use old rags or recycle something into a sturdy plastic scraper."

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As one commenter pointed out, those who want to attain true self-sufficiency could grow an alternative in their yard. "If your growing season is long enough, and you have garden space, you can grow loofahs!" they enthused.

In an era of vast consumption, when the waste we generate emits both planet-warming gases and water-polluting chemicals, learning to live with less and make the most of what we have has never been more important.

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