The Hamburg mail order company Otto has accused Chinese e-commerce providers of environmentally fatal behavior.
“E-commerce providers who fly thousands of tons of cheaply produced goods around half the globe every day seem to completely ignore issues such as climate change or the responsible use of resources,” said divisional director Marc Opelt in Hamburg on Monday. This is irresponsible and will not work in the long term. “I would also like to see more sensitivity from politicians here.”
Providers such as Temu and Shein primarily send their packages by air freight and have been criticized by the German retail industry. The company behind Temu is PDD Holdings. PDD is known in China for the Pinduoduo app, one of the country’s fastest-growing e-commerce platforms. Since 2022, PDD has also been expanding abroad. Shein, on the other hand, is a Chinese online retailer for fashion and sporting goods that was founded by Chris Xu in 2008 and is now based in Singapore. Opelt did not name the two companies.
This Tuesday, the Otto Group would like to present preliminary figures for its e-commerce business in the 2023/2024 financial year, which ends at the end of February. Otto also wants to provide information about the topic of generative artificial intelligence, among other things. E-commerce group board member Sebastian Klauke, among others, is expected to attend. (dpa)