At the Mercy of CHINA…
I recently went on a buying spree…I bought my hubby…7 prs of jeans, 12 pr socks,12 underwear, 12 T shirts and a coat. I bought myself…2 skirts, 3 pants, 4 blouses, a sweater and 2 pr of shoes… and two books. I ordered 2 items from wish and one from Amazon…
When putting away the clothing, all from Reputable US Companies…all the clothing and shoes… were Made In China, the two items from Wish were shipped by Amazon, the two books Published in the US but printed in China…the item ordered from Amazon came from China…
I just noticed my two new tarot decks were printed in China…
I’m living overseas in Europe now, but yes- going through the closet and cupboards, just about everything comes from China. All the materials were sourced, made, and shipped thousands of miles to get here
Advertising can be tricky sometimes. The companies in the USA who use the label “Made in the USA” often just mean that the product was assembled in the USA- the individual pieces were all made and shipped from overseas. Food companies are guilty too- “Made with 100% real meat/juice/etc.” actually means there’s a bit of real meat or juice somewhere in there. If you want a true, authentic product, you have to look for “100% real”.
I guess it just boils down to the ever more increasing need to be aware as shoppers. We talked about this a lot in my classes for my Global Studies degree- they call it being a “conscious consumer”. There’s a good article about it in the NY Times: How to Be a Conscious Consumer even when you are on a Budget
I find myself trying to go the local markets more and more. And even if the goods from local craftspeople are more expensive, they tend to last longer and I know they were made with quality materials.
That being said, there are some things I need that I can’t get locally- and I love finding treasures on sites like AliExpress, things I couldn’t get elsewhere!
How does everyone feel about this? Do you order things online, or only shop locally? Do you think we should stop ordering/supporting companies selling cheap or shady goods from China?
I’m very cautious about buying from companies that have anything dealing with China. I’ve ordered products and their knockoffs, break easily or simply stop working. So yeah, I’ll hesitate when buying from China. I’d love to help them out but I’m tired of wasting my money.
