European countries mostly discourage this not through postal rates, but by applying VAT and customs charges even on small-scale individual importation. How uniformly this is done varies by country (some inspect and enforce more aggressively than others). In Denmark, for example, which is one of the more aggressive, you either need to have your package pre-cleared by arranging duties/VAT to be paid ahead of time, or the Danish post office will charge you a flat 160 DKK (about $23) for clearing it [1]. That makes it not cost-effective to order $20 items from China, even if the UPU rates are low.
In the UK, consignments valued at £15 or less are free from Customs Duty and import VAT, so that doesn't do much to discourage small-scale individual purchases from China.
That fee is insulting. And if that kind of thing starts being applied consistently across large enough areas, I'm sure retailers will manage to fill out the paperwork and maybe increase prices 15 cents to compensate.
Amazon US at one point offered insurance against this. Basically they would sent you your items and hope it would not get caught in customs. If it did, they would pay.
You don't see that many sites offering this anymore, but the rare wish.com competitor will have the option.
So, you think that getting into your car, driving to a retail location, paying $7.95 for that $1 item, and then driving back home is better for the environment?
I suspect every dollar you contribute to a high-consumption 1st world economy is inherently going to be worse for the environment than sending it a developing country. Like that vegan / grassfed / murican made premium is going to fund someone's conspicuous consumption, versus spent on more basic needs in developing countries. And in case of China, with incredibly high savings rate, it's just going to the bank.
China is the largest polluter of the planet, and it's not even close.
And it's not because they're poor, it's that culturally, they don't seem to give a shit. The higher their standard of living becomes, the more they pollute.
Maybe, someday, they'll change. I hope so. For now, though, the only countries that care about the environment enough to pass laws preventing its destruction are in the West. People who care about the environment should spend their money accordingly.
China has 1/2 of per the capita emissions as most western countries, even with outsourced western manufacturing factored in. The dollar you're spending on a cheap Chinese item is going to some middle class drop shipper with 10,000 USD income who is going to save 45% of it in the bank.
>the only countries that care about the environment enough to pass laws preventing its destruction are in the West.
Environmentalism at the cost of economic growth is one of the few things Chinese public made CPC concede on. See the rapid improvement in air quality in major urban centres and the variety of green initiatives China is actually meeting prematurely. Westerners dog whistles that they care about the environment, they might genuinely believe it, but that's certainly not reflected en-mass in individual actions or massive infrastructure responses.
>People who care about the environment should spend their money accordingly.
Yet people who are good for the environment are the ones who spend less, aka people with less money, or if we're bringing in culture, the propensity to save. China savings rate is among the highest in the world, it's substantially higher than western countries. Compared to a western vendor who has a higher profit margin and lower saving rate = more consumption -> worse for the environment. The only thing keeping consumption down in the west is wage and purchase power stagnation due to increased inequity. And that's the hard pill, the best way to reduce consumption in absence of behavior change is to make people broke or redistribute wealth in a manner that reduces consumption.
I hope European countries follow suit and stop subsidizing foreign mail.
It's absurd that we can order something on AliExpress, have it shipped halfway around the world, and pay 1 Dollar.