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December 22, 2005
A year without 'Made in China'
Came across this on Danwei
We hit the first rut in the road when I discovered our son's toes pressing against the ends of his tennis shoes. I wore myself out hunting for new ones. After two weeks I broke down and spent $60 on sneakers from Italy. I felt sick over the money; it seemed decadent for a pair of children's shoes. I got used to the feeling. Weeks later I shelled out $60 for Texas-made shoes for our toddler daughter.
Nice experiment and well worth reading the whole article. funny thing is that in China a lot of the well to do Chinese feel the same way, especially when it comes to Luxury Goods.
Posted by shak at December 22, 2005 3:34 PM
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Hehe. Good piece, but it also shows that Americans rate themselves very high when saying:
"The funny thing about China's ascent is that we, as a nation, could shut the whole thing down in a week. Jump-start a "Just Say No to Chinese Products Week," and the empire will collapse amid the chaos of overloaded cargo ships in Long Beach harbor."
I dont think so darling! Its not just to US that the Chinese are selling their products...
Happy holidays!
Posted by: Tom at December 23, 2005 5:36 PM
Sadly, the writer and her family is completely ignorant of the fact that the grocery bags they used at the store, the paper cups they used at a party, and even some of the replacement parts for the cars they were driving probably came from China. So their boycott was an ineffective one. This is a completely frivilous article that demonstrates how ignorant common Americans can be when it comes to globalization. Canada is where we get our lumber, Mexico is where we get our fruits and vegetables, and China is where we get our inexpensive plastic products. What is the big deal? Why does it even matter that the little plastic pieces came from expensive Danish labor as opposed to inexpensive Chinese labor? Is it a moral stand? It is the global economy.
As for luxury goods, that is a different matter. A Chinese CEO wouldn't wear a suit made by a skilled tailor handstiched in Shanghai, but he gladly pays $1000 off the rack a glued together suit from Armani. Quality is not the most important to him... Funny how many girls in Shanghai will swoon over a Cartier bracelet sold at Plaza 66 for $5k US, when the exact same bracelet is on sale at Saks Fifth Ave for $750. It is all about the psychology I suppose....
Posted by: George at December 24, 2005 7:24 AM
If made in USA is so good and desirable, why is GM and Ford are one step away from Chapter 11.
Posted by: Robert at December 27, 2005 8:46 AM