Practical and affordable, mini-ventilators have been taken by storm, since the start of heat waves. However, they are part of a logic of disposable consumption.
These are the new stars of the summer. Easy to transport, not expensive, effective, less tiring than a range, hand fanters, kinds of small devices allowing to mitigate the ambient heat, are all the rage. Often sold on platforms like TEMU or in shops offering cheap gadgets, these are «fashions“, Even ensure certain users. A tidal wave with heavy environmental consequences.
In the heat wave, many French people rushed on these tools to limit their suffering. Research has doubled compared to last summer on the Internet. “We sold all our stock from morning to noon!” This is the case since the start of the heat wave ”notes a saleswoman in a Hema store, in Paris. This chain is far from being the only one to offer these pocket fans, sometimes of a bright color, accessible and sold at low prices. On the action site, there are 2.99 euros. At Hema, they sell between 6 and 15 euros. On the side of the Chinese giants, like TEMU, the models proliferate: speed, wind adjustment, colors, shape, battery or rechargeable by USB cable … we can even find some «minis» for less than one euro.
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Polluting objects
However, these gadgets that tear are not without environmental consequences. Often made in China based on critical materials (lithium, aluminum, etc.), they are part of the logic of these electronic devices changed before being obsolete «fast tech». In the United Kingdom, more than 1.14 billion electronic gadgets (vapes, electronic cigarettes, chargers, headphones, etc.) are bought each year, and about half, or 589 million, are thrown over the same period, according to the NGO Material Focus, quoted by The Guardian. Thus, the English bought 7.1 million fans in 2024, and would have thrown or forgot 3.5 million, details the NGO. The French are relatively little aware of the harmful environmental consequences of the “Fast Tech”, which only half of them know, according to a Back Market study in Opélisway. However, young people are more sensitive: 69% of 25-34 year olds consider tech as polluting.
Their effectiveness itself seems to be called into question: “Under a burning sun, it is as if you receive a breath of hot air from a hair dryer. Better to avoid “alerts Doctor Kunihisa Miur, deputy director of the Tokyo Hikifune Hospital in Japan, in We tomorrow. So should we abandon any purchase of this type of fan? “There is nothing wrong with trying to refresh yourself, admits Scott Buttler, at the head of the British NGO Material Focus, But we highly advise people, if they need these objects, trying to buy the best version possible so that it is more likely to last more than a summer. ”