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Covid19 - Made In China

I think it was in the mid-60's when I first noticed Americans become willing to compromise - willing to accept lesser quality for lower prices.

It may have been K-Mart that brought the first assault on quality. Crappy merchandise, just enough employees to stock shelves and with zero knowledge to assist shoppers. The downtown department stores suffered, downsized or just closed forever.

And so it continued. Manufacturers responded to the market and many left the USA to foreign countries where the government policies produced workers willing to provide labor at a fraction of what they were used to paying. Even though their quality suffered, customers is the USA - the worlds largest consumer group, were still willing to accept crap for their hard earned money.

I have no axe to grind with the Chinese people - none. It's the Chinese Communist Party at fault. Just like any leftist government, the CCP controls everything. And, it's gotten worse as time passed. And now, the CCP has dropped covid19 on all of us. Killed hundreds of thousands of people and maybe just maybe the real target - destroyed world economies.

With that as the backdrop, my question is this - from this point forward, will you be more aware and less likely to buy ANYTHING Made In China? Will you opt to spend a little more for higher quality? And maybe most importantly, avoid helping to fund the CCP?
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4meAndyou · F
I think it would be far more impactful if retailers would refuse to buy said products.

I don't want to have to wear a magnifying glass round my neck to read the fine print on every single thing I need or buy...and where I buy so many things online, that information is not always available. I know what clothing is made in China on Zulily from shopping RoseWe and similar sites, because it all looks exactly the same, and it's all three sizes too small.

I just went round and checked two items I just purchased. You would think that praline coated pecans would be grown in the USA...but the legalise on the back panel said that they are [i]packaged and processed[/i] in the USA...not necessarily grown here, apparently...and after I waded through a lot more, I discovered that Costco was the distributor, but they were packaged and processed in Seattle.

The same thing with the Kleenex that recently arrived in the mail. Distributed by a Worldwide corporation...so I read further and yet further...and found out the parent company is located in Wisconsin...and the kleenex IS in fact made in the USA.

So...that was two items. How many people are going to stand there and read and wade through the language that is used to try to conceal origins, in the case of the pecans, for example. Those two items took me 15 minutes. Maybe one, or two people will do that.

Most people...average people...want to walk into a store and grab what's on the shelves...and if they can they usually buy what they know is the best and the cheapest both.
Heartlander · 80-89, M
@4meAndyou

Is it maybe time for a manufacturing facts panel on merchandise purchased at the retail level? With details about who, where, when things were made? Sort of like the nutritional facts panel on all process food items?

The purpose of the nutritional facts panel is to help us make good choices about how a particular food product fits our nutritional needs. The make-up and information presented is determined by law, and not by the manufacturer who has a self serving interest in selling the product.

And likewise for non-food consumer goods. Flashy TV ads and slick packaging may diminish the facts that a product is made by exploited or child labor, or made in a country and factory that's polluting the oceans or air we all share.
4meAndyou · F
@Heartlander That is a good thought, but we had a huge battle just getting manufacturers to list nutritional facts on labels.

It would be easier and cheaper for huge national chains to order what they knew was made in the USA, or in the UK or other places with safe practices and standards, and advertise that. Trader Joe's, for example, used to advertise fair trade coffee with a little cardboard sign on the table where it was displayed.
Oster1 · M
On food, I would love to know if it’s GMO, or not. Another battle that’s hard to overcome!☺️@4meAndyou
4meAndyou · F
@Oster1 If it's non-GMO they brag about it on the label...and that's the only way you can know...😂. Because I am allergic to dairy, I look at the allergy section, and the non-GMO brag is usually right there.
Oster1 · M
@4meAndyou You are exactly right. “Organic”, is no guarantee either!☺️
4meAndyou · F
@Oster1 I do buy organic...but just because I want to be able to use fruits like strawberries from which pesticides can't be completely removed. Non-GMO is not really my digestive flag...but it's better and healthier.
Budwick · 70-79, M
@4meAndyou More regulation?
Not a fan of that.
4meAndyou · F
@Budwick No one is saying more regulation. Let's talk about...more patriotism.
Oster1 · M
@4meAndyou I agree with organic!☺️