unclemick
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Buy Louisiana Seafood!!
heh heh heh -
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heh heh heh -
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NOT made in China
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Maybe helpful? American Made Products and/or Services Made in USA
From the website:
[FONT=verdana,arial] "Made in the USA" products need a content consisting of 51% or more of domestically produced or manufactured parts, labor and or value-added content or any combination thereof. The ownership of a company is not the key factor. The fact that a company is a good corporate neighbor by manufacturing or buying goods and services domestically for sale in the local markets and providing jobs, is of key importance. This is a fundamental ingredient of employment stability and economic growth."
They also have links to the NAFTA and FTC definitions for what qualifies.
Sure makes it hard to know what you're buying.
[/FONT]
From the website:
[FONT=verdana,arial] "Made in the USA" products need a content consisting of 51% or more of domestically produced or manufactured parts, labor and or value-added content or any combination thereof. The ownership of a company is not the key factor. The fact that a company is a good corporate neighbor by manufacturing or buying goods and services domestically for sale in the local markets and providing jobs, is of key importance. This is a fundamental ingredient of employment stability and economic growth."
They also have links to the NAFTA and FTC definitions for what qualifies.
Sure makes it hard to know what you're buying.
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I think the economists are too quick to let companies off the hook. Surely we can do better than giving ourselves a choice between buying goods made by kids locked in sweatshops vs. abandoning them to be exploited by others.
If the local wage is a few dollars a day (or week!) surely these corporations could afford to invest in the local infrastructure and build a few schools or provide some basic health care.
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Well, I was just repeating what I read. I do agree with you in principle, it should work that way, but as I understand it, the reality is not always in sync.
I certainly would not complain about a product costing me $55 instead of $53, if I knew the $2 was going to support improving the lives of some hard working people. But companies don't market that very effectively, so people just buy the cheapest thing that will do the job. If they were better informed, they might modify their buying habits.
Free Trade coffee is a decent start.
A while back, Apple was accused of some 'sweatshop' practices in the factories that they contract to make iPods. Turns out that they have a pretty reasonable 'code of conduct' (EIA standard, IIRC) for their overseas plants, and the supposed violations fell apart under investigation.
I'd like to see companies really promote respectable labor and environmental practices, and use it as a selling point. I think a verifiable statement like 'our product was made to such and such labor and environmental standards', like a 'Good-Housekeeping' seal would attract a lot of consumers. I bet the change in retail price would be minimal - maybe pennies. Look what consumers are paying for supposed 'green', or 'organic' products. I bet they would make a lot more money with this approach, even though a few would still go for the cheapest.
-ERD50
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
In a similar vein, its interesting to look at the foreign/domestic parts and labor contents of various automobiles.
A fair number of Fords and Chevys have lower domestic content than some Toyotas and Hondas.
A fair number of Fords and Chevys have lower domestic content than some Toyotas and Hondas.
Yes, that's what I assumed, apologies if I implied otherwise.
I think more information about practices and manufacturing conditions would be great, and I agree that many people would probably pay slightly more for something if they knew it was produced more humanely (for lack of a better word).
Lot of companies these days will contract the Chinese to manufacture the pieces of a product then have them shipped to the company where final assembly takes place and a made in America sticker is applied.
Staying away from big box stores is a way to diminish Chinese content in your purchases as most of what they sell comes from some part of Asia.
Staying away from big box stores is a way to diminish Chinese content in your purchases as most of what they sell comes from some part of Asia.
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
No apology needed, I understand.
I heard again recently about how American consumers 'just want the cheap price' - and it aggravates me. If you don't give a person any other information, of course they go for the cheapest price - why not? Give them some information, and see what they do.
Although I am a cynical person, I am not totally cynical about the average American's desire to be 'fair'. Look at how many billions of dollars in charity are given whenever there is some crisis that makes the news. I find it hard to believe that people would not cough up a buck here and there in purchase price, if they understood it was going to hard working people who were trying to advance themselves and just wanted a decent living.
-ERD50
I realize that my Emmaljunga baby buggy "Made in Sweden" might have some assembly hardware that was made in China, but I at least have a bit more confidence knowing that it's likely to be going through a more rigorous quality control inspection in Emmaljunga, Sweden than it would in Shanghai or Dhaka.
But actually, I haven't had that hard of a time finding things NOT made in China. I just bought a wire basket closet organizer thingy made in Norway and baby scissors made in the Netherlands.
I actually went around the house to see where all the stuff I currently have is made. My refrigerator was made in Lithuania, my gas stove was made in Italy, my TV was made in Korea, my microwave was made in Thailand. Both our cell phones were made in Korea. My car tires were made in Slovenia. That's all I've checked so far.
So it's not impossible. Maybe even a bit easier here in Europe than in the States.
But actually, I haven't had that hard of a time finding things NOT made in China. I just bought a wire basket closet organizer thingy made in Norway and baby scissors made in the Netherlands.
I actually went around the house to see where all the stuff I currently have is made. My refrigerator was made in Lithuania, my gas stove was made in Italy, my TV was made in Korea, my microwave was made in Thailand. Both our cell phones were made in Korea. My car tires were made in Slovenia. That's all I've checked so far.
So it's not impossible. Maybe even a bit easier here in Europe than in the States.
Walmarts popping up all over.
I was thinking of doing something similar here. Opening a niche shop in the wealthy section of the capital called EU Baby. Only sell items made in the EU (plus Norway and Switzerland). But then I got to thinking that would require working so I shelved it.
bruce1
Full time employment: Posting here.
Half the stuff in the Home Hardware Store is made in China. A lot of scary substandard electrical stuff showing up. Also counterfeit Canadian standard association approvals on lots of stuff. The item is marked as meeting standards but was never approved.
Bruce
Goonie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
My Dad was the same way. He was a Navy SeaBee on Okinawa, and said he "wouldn't buy a d*mn thing from those SOB's that kept trying to shoot" him! He held on to that until he passed away in '98. If he picked something up while shopping, and saw "Made in Japan" on it, he'd drop it and walk away muttering something about "shoulda dropped a couple more g*ddamn A-bombs". Sometimes I think Norman Lear modeled Archie Bunker after dear ol' Dad!
He DID buy a '68 VW Beetle. He said that was "OK", because the Germans never fired a single shot at him!
Yeah, I had a "Japanese" '96 Mitsubishi Galant manufactured in Normal, IL.......and my "American" '06 Chevy HHR was built in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. IIRC, the Galant was ~41% Japanese materials, and ~53% American....the remainder was from parts unknown. I have no idea off the top of head the % of American vs. foreign parts used in the HHR.
That store is SCARY! I'm very cautious what I purchase there....they carry a sh*t load of crappy, inferior quality JUNK! Fortunately, I have electrical and plumbing supply houses very close by, that deal in QUALITY parts. For other supplies I have an acct with Lawson Products. And for tools I used to prefer Craftsman, S&K, and Snap-On....but have dropped Craftsman from my 'favored' list because quality has been declining.
That's a really good point Cute Fuzzy Bunny. Many people overlook the fact that a large number of foreign parts are made in the USA and many of the vehicles are actually assembled here. It definitely makes it more difficult for a consumer who is trying to buy domestic.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
I was going to take issue with this statement until I realized for everyone living outside the USA it is entirely accurate.
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I think in a roundabout way, what it means is that a lot of parts that go into things like toyotas and hondas are made somewhere other than japan.
Could no longer be the case, but the last time I checked a Camry had about the same north american parts and labor involved than an escalade or ford 500.
Could no longer be the case, but the last time I checked a Camry had about the same north american parts and labor involved than an escalade or ford 500.
My dad also has the same attitude,in his mid 80's now every time he buys a new car its off to the flea market to get a new
"Buy American,Remember Pearl Harbor" bumper sticker..
PS. Even Japan is now out sourcing a lot of production to the Chinese,think i remember a story saying all tv's are now made in China.
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