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juststartn
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| Posted: Sept 04 2007 at 9:28am | IP Logged
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I've been trying to avoid MIC stuff for a while now (Made In China). And yes, people think I am crazy. Of course, they think I am crazy already, when they see me with the five dc 7 and under, incl the twins, and hear me say I'll gladly take more, if God is willing to send them.
Add in the hsing, the Catholicism (I live in NC, and there aren't so many of "us" here), the skirt/dress wearing...and you can see it just gets written off as my nutty ness.
But I think it is disgusting.
The only time I will let myself knowingly by MIC products is if they are second hand (ie, in the thrift store). I figure the companies aren't getting any more money out of me, and I'm not paying full value for it). I definitely avoid buying new as much as possible.
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
Helena(Layna) 5/23/02
Sophia 4/19/04
John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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CrunchyMom
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Rachel, I could have written your post (except I only have a 3 and 1 year old so far--I can still try for that girl without being too nutty, lol).
It's been on our radar screen for a while, and it has really helped us in simplifying things and keeping clutter down. I've really come to believe that my children are better off with a few very nice things than many of lesser quality.
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LisaD
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Lori B wrote:
cvbmom wrote:
How about shoes for children that aren't made in China? I have yet to find ANY! (I hope I'm missing something obvious  |
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Crocs! Made in Canada, which is why we forked out $29 for them, instead of the $5.99 for the Made in China knock-offs. |
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Of the four pairs of children's Crocs in our house, one says "Made in Mexico," one says "Made in U.S.A," one says, "Made in Colorado," and one says "Made in China." I guess you need to check the bottoms of the Crocs before you buy.
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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teachingmyown
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LisaD wrote:
Of the four pairs of children's Crocs in our house, one says "Made in Mexico," one says "Made in U.S.A," one says, "Made in Colorado," and one says "Made in China." I guess you need to check the bottoms of the Crocs before you buy. |
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That's like all of our Lands' End dresses. There are probably half a dozen countries where they are made. The girls enjoy reading the tags before putting their dresses on. A regular geography lesson! We should get out the globe!
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Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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MicheleQ
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Honestly this whole thing is getting more and more difficult. I decided I would spend the extra money and buy myself nicer cardigans from Land's End this year only to have them arrive and find they were made in China!
I was at the mall recently trying to buy a suit jacket and even the pricier ones (I'm talking $75 which is pricey to me) were made in China! In fact almost ALL the clothes were and this wasn't Wal-mart or K-mart it was Sears and Kohl's! 
Granted I can sew but I can't sew everything - I don't have time.
On the other hand I was happily surprised last week to come across several Melissa and Doug baby toys that weren't made in China. They were in a local store and I snapped them up for a song. 
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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guitarnan
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Michele, you are so right. It gets harder every day. More and more brands are going Chinese. Some items (white glue, shower curtain liners) are ONLY made in China. Grrr.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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aiereis
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What do you all do about things online? Most of the websites I look at don't have the manufacturing location listed. Do you call/email the company? Just guess where it is made? Most of the non-grocery items I get come from online purchases and while I don't want to buy things MIC I don't want to pay retail + tax prices either at a regular store. 
--Christina
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SuzanneG
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I asked Zappos if they list where the shoes are manufactured. Here is their response:
I'm sorry, we do not list the country of origin in our descriptions because many shoes are well-traveled before they receive the final touches -- polishing or shoe laces. For instance, one of our major manufacturers has factories in Denmark, Portugal, Thailand, Slovakia, Indonesia and China.
Often soles are made in one place, uppers in another, shoes that are to be stitched may be sent to one location, while those that will be glued are sent elsewhere, but many shoes have traveled to China for at least a portion of their assembly, and nearly all athletic shoes are entirely assembled in China.
If you have a particular brand in mind, even then, we can't be absolutely certain of the origin of every style made by that brand. For instance, all Birkenstocks are made in Germany, except a few styles that are made in China. We would, however, be happy to share what we know with you for any particular brand and style.
The shoes do all receive a sticker, placed on the shoe or the shoe box at their final destination that says, "Made in China," "Made in Denmark," etc., but the shoe may not have been completely assembled in that "country of origin."
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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guitarnan
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When they don't say, I assume it's MIC. Amazon's new shoe sales site has country of origin, very helpful.
Sometimes I go to a brick and mortar store and look at the item IRL, then look for a deal online. This is usually when it's a big-ticket item.
I have had very bad luck with e-mailing online retailers and asking about country of origin. Some folks just don't respond. Others lie. It is frustrating.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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BrendaPeter
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Someone sent me this article today.
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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5athome
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Thanks for linking to that article -- much food for thought.
I have had relatively good luck lately emailing manufacturers about the products made in China. Lego & Playmobil both gave me rather detailed replies on which pieces are MIC. Tupperware was the only one I contacted who gave me the run around and finally said that I would have to actually order the product before I could find out where it was made.
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Margaret
ds '93, dd '96, ds '99,
ds '01, dd '04, ds '06,
ds '08
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guitarnan
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Brenda, that is a great article. This is what I try to do; vote with my little dollars for the products I prefer.
I heard an interesting report on NPR today (can't remember the program). The interviewee commented that the Chinese manufacturers are being squeezed by the big box stores here in the USA to cut prices each year. The Chinese factories operate pretty close to the margin. The report suggested that American consumers vote for politicians who are willing to increase the budgets of our national QA/consumer safety inspections so we can be sure we are buying safe products.
I know we all want to buy safe products. There's such a patchwork of regulations, it's hard to know who's ultimately responsible for the lead paint on a Barbie accessory...so perhaps we do need to make our desires known in Washington.
I'm still trying to vote with my dollars, just because.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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BrendaPeter
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MicheleQ wrote:
| Granted I can sew but I can't sew everything - I don't have time. |
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The last time I was looking at fabric, I found that much of it was made in China  .
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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BrendaPeter
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I really admire you Nancy, as I know how much of a struggle it is.
What do you do when something you need, like erasers, are made in China with no alternatives?
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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stefoodie
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Just had to chime in with this story: Our 8-yo had his birthday party last month. The last 2 of the guests were being picked up late. My 5-yo picks up one of the gifts and says, Mom, look, it says Made in China! I was mortified. 
Although, I remember my parents having the exact sentiments about anything made in HK when I was growing up in the Phils. The only things we bought then that were Chinese-made were food items. Toys and other products had the reputation of being cheaply made/easily falling apart if made in HK or China. Don't know when people stopped caring about quality and focused on quantity instead.... Whenever relatives came from abroad we all looked forward to the gifts, because they were sure to be "Made in the USA" and that always meant quality. I remember US-made products having a particular smell to it that local things never had. Back then we had colonial mentality -- anything US-made *had* to be better than anything we could produce ourselves. In a way globalization has really helped Filipino thinking, we finally realized our local products were worth it and could be produced with superior materials and superior quality. (OTOH, some companies now make products for the local market and a separate line for export. That could be good or bad depending on your point of view.)
Now the opposite has happened here. So sad.
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MicheleQ
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BrendaPeter wrote:
MicheleQ wrote:
| Granted I can sew but I can't sew everything - I don't have time. |
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The last time I was looking at fabric, I found that much of it was made in China . |
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I know but even so it's still not as hard to find fabric as clothes. And well, truthfully I have enough fabric already in my house to make just about anything we need. Looking at it yesterday I felt rather embarrassed and resolved to use much of it before I even THINK about buying more.
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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hylabrook1
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LoriB -
I'm not sure they sell Made in Canada Crocs in the US. All the ones I've seen here are MIC. Mine are Made in Canada, but I bought them in Quebec.
My adult dd, who is very interested in social justice issues, told me that actually the people who work in sweat shops everywhere don't really want people to boycott the sweat shop products. They would prefer people to campaign and work for better conditions, but if people don't buy the stuff they make and the sweat shops go out of business, then the workers will be worse off because they will have no income at all. Not sure where dd came by that information.
I just thought that was an interesting and different perspective. Not sure how I feel about purchasing MIC things in light of that argument...
Peace,
Nancy
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guitarnan
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When there is absolutely no alternative, I buy and cry. Generally I only do this for essential things (glue, shower curtain liners) and not for luxuries (fabric). I have been known to scour thrift shops for Christmas lights...to no avail. (Happy news; I found Advent colors in Xmas lights at Michael's last year, from the Philippines. I bought 6 sets.)
For me it isn't only the sweatshops, as I've stated before. In China, people are pretty expendable. Unborn babies, coal mine workers...no one except their families seems to care if they exist at all. Workers are commodities to be used up. Individual rights don't exist at all, as we understand them. If I thought buying MIC items would help, I would, but I know it won't. The Chinese manufacturers get pressure from our big box stores to drive down prices; since people are expendable, it doesn't matter that female Chinese factory workers can't date or marry...no one asks the young ladies about their wishes.
I am also thinking about learning to do things myself (I can weave a simple basket, for ex.) rather than buy Chinese items. Obviously I can't make my own shower curtain liners, though!
Shoes are getting more difficult all the time. It is frustrating.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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SuzanneG
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A friend sent this link to us the other day:
Oompa Toys
"This company, based in Madison, was in the Wisconsin State Journal last week. The company has toys for about 4-5 dozen companies that don't make their toys in China. Lots of them are American and European. The founder has 2 small children herself and it sounds like they research the companies they work with very well."
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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BrendaPeter
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guitarnan wrote:
For me it isn't only the sweatshops, as I've stated before. In China, people are pretty expendable. Unborn babies, coal mine workers...no one except their families seems to care if they exist at all. Workers are commodities to be used up. Individual rights don't exist at all, as we understand them. |
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Now I'm starting to wonder if this isn't the case in other countries as well? I wish I were more up on social policies throughout the world, since I have no idea if I should be "happy" when I see Made in Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea...
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Made in China
