Month long Ban on Chinese products from June 4th to July 4th (to buy, wages)

[scrantonluna]

Does anyone have a copy of this email? People are starting a grassroots movement to ban the purchase of chinese
made products from June 4th until July 4th, in protest of human rights violations and the dangerous products that
they have been releasing into the US markets (lead paint, hormones/chemicals, etc.)

It is encouraged that you buy American made products instead, but really the same point will be realized, just so
long as whatever you buy is not made in China.

Good luck trying to shop at Walmart.

[thecoalman]

Hmmmm, that would put an end to nearly every fireworks display on the fourth except for the really large ones where they make their own. Ironic isn't it?

[Summering]

Maybe that means starting the fireworks after midnight of the 4th.
I think we do have a US family who makes fireworks though. A couple of famous ones out there.

[scrantonluna]

There are a lot of fireworks that are made in the US or elsewhere.
You do not have to rely on china for fireworks.

[greentown]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Does anyone have a copy of this email? People are starting a grassroots movement to ban the purchase of chinese
made products from June 4th until July 4th, in protest of human rights violations and the dangerous products that
they have been releasing into the US markets (lead paint, hormones/chemicals, etc.)

It is encouraged that you buy American made products instead, but really the same point will be realized, just so
long as whatever you buy is not made in China.

Good luck trying to shop at Walmart.

Yes, good luck shopping at practically any store!

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

There are a lot of fireworks that are made in the US or elsewhere.
You do not have to rely on china for fireworks.

Well I've shot a LOT of fireworks off in my life and I don't think I've seen any made anywhere but China.

[KarenRice]

The problem is that you won't really make much of a point, in only a month. Furthermore, there is NO WAY to completely get away from products made in China - simple things like garlic powder, milk protein, whey, corn starch...

Read this:
Is Your Food Safe From Melamine? « Healthhabits

For a product to be "Made In USA" it only needs to be assembled in the US. Any or all of it can be made with foreign parts.

If you care to dig deeper into this, it may frighten you.

For any kind of ban or boycott to be effective it needs to be much longer than a month.

[odessa3]

It would be nice to "buy American", if we can find anything American to buy!

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by odessa3

if we can find anything American to buy!

You can if you dig around enough but be prepared to pay for it, the American consumer wants cheap junk hence the reason you have wal-mart. They rather buy that $99 lawn mower they have to replce in 10 years instead of the $400 one made by an american manufactuerer that will last a lifetime.

American manufacturers cannot compete in the cheap junk market because of the huge disparity in wages among other things. However when the quality of the product goes up the playing field begins to level because the cost of the product is also dictated by other things like the material used to produce the product. Labor costs become less of a factor.

You can find American products and they can be some of the best in the world but you will pay for them. It's not to say the Chinese can't make great products but just to say why should they when the American public wants the cheapest disposable piece of crap they can get their hands on. They are not concerned if it's going to last forever but instead what it's going to cost them up front.

[The Commish]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

They rather buy that $99 lawn mower they have to replce in 10 years instead of the $400 one made by an american manufactuerer that will last a lifetime.

On that point, I think you'd enjoy this compelling Fast Company article about Snapper Mowers and Wal-Mart:

The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart