The shopping app Temu offers plenty of novelty items, including a lamp shaped like a croissant that looks surprisingly accurate.
And as it turns out, that should be no surprise … because it is, literally, a croissant covered in resin.
@froginahatgirl Pls explain temu
♬ original sound - froginahatgirl
One confused customer made the realization when she returned home on a hot day to find ants crawling beneath the lamp, Today reported.
Froginahatgirl (@froginahatgirl) posted a video of her discovery on TikTok, where she broke the lamp in half and examined the inside; it looked suspiciously like real — albeit old — pastry.
"I came home from work after the hot day, and there was, like, hundreds of ants underneath it," she explained.
After wondering what could have attracted the ants, she took a closer look at the croissant lamp.
"That looks like a f****** croissant," she said incredulously. "Are you actually joking me? … Look at the crumbs. What the actual f***, Temu?"
She even took a nibble of one crumb before confirming that it was, in fact, a croissant.
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The video now has millions of views and over 1.5 million comments, Today reports. Many commenters expressed a mixture of amusement and horror over the discovery.
"Just a light snack," one person joked.
Others voiced their frustration at the lamp's poorly made design — an attribute for which ultra-cheap retail platform Temu has become notorious.
"I can explain! you bought something from Temu," one person said sarcastically.
Another described it as "peak capitalism being sold back to you."
There's been growing discontent with Temu, as many consumers regard the platform as a promoter of overconsumption. This leads to excessive waste generation — adding to what the U.N. Environment Programme estimates are 400 million tonnes (over 440 million tons) of plastic waste per year.
Manufacturing and shipping products like this also generates planet-warming air pollution from the use of dirty energy.
Ultimately, it feels like a lose-lose for shoppers — particularly when the products aren't worth the cost.
"Why are [people] still buying from Temu?" one commenter asked.
There's been a growing response to this hyper-consumptive culture in the form of the "No Buy" movement. With this, people ease up — or stop completely — on buying anything new other than strict necessities, such as food and medical supplies. For other items, like furniture and clothing, they buy secondhand or find items directly in their community via groups like the Buy Nothing Project, a local gifting organization.
And even when buying new is unavoidable, there are many brands offering more sustainable packaging, circular options such as textile recycling, and sustainably sourced materials.
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