souvenirs made in China

[Old Microbiologist]

Just saying, it is nearly impossible to avoid buying from China, especially in the US. Back in the 90's we were at Colonial Williamsburg and all the pottery etc. was made in China. We now live in Europe and tend to buy higher-end items made in Italy or Germany, etc. But, when you look into it a bit further it is all either made using Chinese components and assembled in the EU or imported and rebranded. The bar codes give the finer details as packaging can be misleading. That said, there are some very fine goods coming out of China. They will make exactly what you specify. I have a friend that has a factory in the US that makes starter motors for motorcycles. The quality coming out of the US-produced products had a failure rate of roughly 40%. He visited China and went to a factory there and contracted them to make the motors and now has a failure rate of less than 1%, was cheaper and higher quality. I frequently contract CNC-produced milled metal items (sailboat hardware) on small runs of 20 items or less and it is always excellent and high quality and roughly 50% less expensive than if I bought it in Europe. I do the CAD design myself and submit it to them. The same goes for small runs of circuit boards which I can also get pre-soldered with all components far less expensive than I could do myself.

Having been to China now several times and having supervised Chinese scientists in my former laboratory I have no qualms about the Chinese.

I will add that amber purchased in the Baltic countries (including Poland) is mostly fake. If not exactly fake they take actual mined low quality amber and melt it down to be recast with insects etc. in it to sell to tourists. The only real goods I have found in Europe were at bonafide antique shops (usually crappy looking and off the beaten path) and even then you have to be very savvy as there are a large number of fakes being produced in Asia (mostly Thailand). Pawnshops are another good source.

 

[Retired Expat]

Oh, I just read your subsequent post. Unless something says "made in Italy" or wherever you are at, i think, most likely, the item is from some other country...

Most/Many countries have a shop with locally made products. But if you are talking tchotchkes like a plastic Eiffel Tower they are not going to be made in France. You have to research a bit what a country produces to figure it out.

You can also hit the local craft and farmers markets for locally made products

 

[CHBinFL]

What if the Italy souvenir had been made in Switzerland or France or Spain? Would that be better than China since they are geographically closer?

Yes, but not because of the distance. I know it's almost unavoidable, but I'd say anything is better than something made in China, except maybe something made in North Korea. See Uyghurs, Hong Kong, etc.

 

[marko]

With globalization, you can pretty much get anything, from anywhere but I think a consumable can be easily enjoyed and done with.

When we lived in France we'd often hike about 2 miles in downtown Paris for a special box of cookies to bring home to friends.

Little did we know that our local US supermarket stocked them by the shelf-full!

We thought we were so cool; but it was like bringing over a bag of M&Ms and saying "here's something special from Paris"

On the flip side, my French co-workers often gave me a list of very specific Levis' that they wanted when I came back from the US.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

When we lived in France we'd often hike about 2 miles in downtown Paris for a special box of cookies to bring home to friends.

Little did we know that our local US supermarket stocked them by the shelf-full!

We thought we were so cool; but it was like bringing over a bag of M&Ms and saying "here's something special from Paris"

On the flip side, my French co-workers often gave me a list of very specific Levis' that they wanted when I came back from the US.

A friend who grew up in Wausau, WI, tells the tale of a family member who found a port-wine cheese spread that she really liked while on vacation in Hawaii. She bought a number of them to bring home. It was Kaukauna brand, which she prounounced "Kow-ka-OO-na," in an attempt to use a Hawaiian pronunciation.

Of course, Kaukauna (pronounced ka-kahna) is a city in Wisconsin, about 100 miles away from Wausau, and they are known for their cheese.

 

[brett]

We haver purchased Pringle sweaters in Canada for far less than they are sold for in UK shops or in the supposed Harrods duty free shop at LHR.

Some for other British made products and for Swiss made chocolate.

Same for a number of other well known products.

 

[tmm99]

On the flip side, my French co-workers often gave me a list of very specific Levis' that they wanted when I came back from the US.

I noticed when I was in Paris that guys there wore much tighter fitting pants than in the US. They must have their own lines...

 

[Koolau]

When I'm traveling in China, I always ask, do you have any souvenirs made in the USA?

They have (thousands of) tons of souvenirs made in the USA. They are called US Dollars. Bring a few back next time.