So I did an experiment: I picked up various products around my house to see where they were made (I'm planning to recreated this as a math/graphing lesson, too). Here are the results of this very unscientific study.
China
- The cheap MdDonald’s toys—well, duh.
- My camera
- The can of compressed air that we use to get dust out of the computer
- Plastic dishes
- Land’s End fabric kid’s hat
- Scooby-Doo beach towel
- A pack of math flash cards
USA
- My computer paper
- Avon hand lotion
- An old German textbook
- SoftSoap liquid hand soap
- Thank you cards
- Geography workbook
- Raisins (Meijer brand)
- Canned chickpeas (Delallo)
- Bigelow tea bags
- Pasta (Meijer brand)
- Crayola crayons
Canada: non stick cooking spray
Bulgaria: Land’s End pajama top
There were also many items that said "Distributed from" instead of "Made in." Some things I couldn't find even that much.
The thing is, how do you determine if you really are "buying American?" Take cars. American automakers have plants in other countries, and foreign companies have plants here, as well as dealerships, etc. So there are American jobs there.
When we say, "Buy American," what does that really mean?
1 comment:
It is so hard to buy American these days! Just about everything I find for my daughter was made in China, and that saddens me. I bought her some sippy cups yesterday and the label said "Made in China to Playtex Standards". That must be some way to calm people's fears about the issues that have been raised about products from China lately.
I do find it interesting that when I get the recall emails from the CPSC, about 99% of the recalled items were made in China. Is that because they tend to make more inferior products, or because they just make so many products overall? Who knows.
If I have a choice between things that are produced in the US and things that are produces in China (like apple juice, of all things), I'll take the US option every time, even if it costs a bit more. Sometimes, though, you don't get much of a choice.
The book "A Year Without Made in China" by Sara Bongiorni is a really good read.
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