Cosatu backs Shein and Temu ban to protect South African clothing jobs

South Africa's largest trade union federation has come out in favour of banning the Chinese-founded online fashion platforms Shein and Temu. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) adopted a resolution at its 15th National Congress, reported between October 15 and 19, 2026, to campaign for the government to bar the two platforms. The proposal came from the clothing and textile workers' union, SACTWU, which says cheap imports sold through the apps are costing local factory and shop jobs. Cosatu also urged its members to delete the apps and buy from local retailers. No ban has been tabled, and the South African government has not said it will act.

Shein and Temu have changed how clothes are sold across the world. They ship low-priced items directly from overseas suppliers to shoppers' phones, often in small parcels, and they add new styles at a speed traditional retailers find hard to match. For buyers, especially young and price-conscious ones, the appeal is obvious. For countries with their own garment industries, the worry is that local factories and shops lose sales they cannot win back.

South Africa's clothing sector is a large employer, and unions there have long fought cheap imports. The Cosatu resolution moves the argument from complaint to a campaign. Its weight comes from the size of the federation, the country's largest. Still, a union resolution is not law. Any ban would need government action, and could face trade and legal objections.

The retail industry's answer is more cautious. Michael Lawrence, executive director of the National Clothing Retail Federation, said the government should look more closely at how online retailers operate in the country. He also said: "There have been job losses, and there will continue to be job losses both in manufacturing and in retail as a result of this new entrant." The federation's preferred tools are tax, competition and consumer-protection checks, which would make the platforms play by the same rules as local shops rather than shut them out.

South Africa is not alone. France has begun charging fees on so-called ultra-fast fashion, a move aimed at the same platforms, and the European Union now requires large companies to stop destroying unsold clothes and to pay for collecting and recycling textiles. Each country is trying a different answer to the same question: how to protect local makers and the environment without simply taking cheap clothes away from shoppers.

For Indian readers, the debate is a familiar one. Every country with a large garment workforce faces the same trade-off between low prices for shoppers and steady work for the people who cut, stitch and sell clothes.

Short-term: The resolution raises political pressure on South Africa's government and on the two platforms. It may push officials to look more closely at how such parcels are taxed and checked at the border.

Long-term: If governments choose stricter tax and customs rules instead of bans, prices on the apps may rise and local brands may compete more evenly. If a ban were attempted, it would be a test case watched by other countries with large garment industries.

Who is affected: Clothing and textile workers in South Africa, local retailers and factories, shoppers who rely on cheap online fashion, and the platforms themselves.

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