A traveler discovered a Miniso store at a train station in France was selling apparel marketed as single-use — and the incident made their blood boil. 

What's happening?

In the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, the traveler shared a photo of "Wear & Discard" packages of socks and underwear, disposable towels and pillowcases, and individually wrapped face wipes.

"Disposable…everything?" the poster wrote. "... I was so angry I had to leave the store!"

Redditors familiar with Miniso weren't surprised by the situation but were also annoyed with the retailer's marketing tactics and promotion of unnecessary waste. 

"Miniso is the most ridiculous store," one commenter wrote. "I hate that store. Just feels like Temu in the mall," another said, referring to the popular fast fashion company. 

"I got a pair of disposable socks in Germany. Eight years later, they're still holding up," a third person shared, while a fourth pointed out: "All clothes are technically 'disposable.' This is just bs marketing."

Why is this important?

Manufacturing textiles (and packaging) requires a lot of energy and depletes resources. When companies encourage consumers to throw away perfectly reusable apparel, they are contributing to a crisis threatening both public and environmental health. 

According to Earth.org, the world produces more than 100 billion garments every year — a shocking number when you consider the global population stands at around 8 billion. 

Of that apparel, roughly 101 million tons goes straight to landfills, where it generates methane, a heat-trapping gas at least 28 times more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide. 

Textile waste can also leach toxins into waterways and soil, as manufacturers often use synthetic materials (such as plastic) in their clothes and rely on chemicals in dyeing processes. 

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Is Miniso doing anything to reduce its impact on the environment?

On its website, Miniso says it encourages staff to prioritize public transportation during business travel, promotes paper-free processes in its office, and has established recycling stations for its employees, including one to recover and reuse single-sided printed sheets.

The company's most recent ESG report also says it is committed to using non-toxic printing inks, reducing packaging weight, and incorporating recycled plastics into products.

The Cool Down couldn't find any details on whether Miniso is reconsidering the marketing program that encourages the rapid disposal of apparel. 

What can be done about textile and plastic waste more broadly?

Even if a company promotes wastefulness, you can take action to be a responsible vacationer — and this includes avoiding single-use plastics and other items when you're traveling. 

"Reduce is always the most powerful part of the 3Rs," one commenter on the Reddit thread suggested, to which another replied: "It should be 4Rs. The first being Refuse." 

Preparing ahead of time and refusing to get sucked in by marketing campaigns appealing to your desire for convenience could even save you a lot of cash in the long run. Simply forgoing disposable water bottles in favor of a reusable one could save you nearly $300 each year.

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