is anyone doing or thinking about a boycot of chinese products?

i don't mean to cause a lot of trouble here, but i am deeply troubled about our 24 military people being held in china. i don't see any quick end to this.

walmart used to advertise "made in america". that campaign was quietly swept under the rug a year or so ago. in my experience, now when i go into walmart, or kmart, or whomever, its practically impossible to find anything made in america. almost everything is made in china, or will be soon. zebco, the fine american fishing reel company, last month closed down their only plant (in tulsa oklahoma) and moved it to china.

don't take my word for it. go to walmart. look at shoes, kitchen stuff, toys, etc etc etc, and see what you will see.

and to make matters worse, try to find anything made in china that is worth a flip. EVERYTHING i have looked at is made lousy. terrible quality, won't last, substandard junk. not to mention a lot is allegedly made by slave labor.

well anyway, thanks for listening to me vent. everyone have a nice day and be well

gene

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), April 11, 2001

Answers

Response to interested in a boycott? its a rowdy t opic

Gene,

Hate to break it to you but it isn't just Wally world. I worked as a "softlines stocker" for Sears. China is just one of the places the clothing comes from. It was rare to find any made in America...some of the places I'd never heard of before! But, on topic, I think boycotting would be a really good way for the "ordinary" citizens of the USA to let their feelings be known. Good posting. Enjoy your life.

-- Deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Response to interested in a boycott? its a rowdy t opic

I don't know how much Stuff China produces, I'm sure it's in the trillions, but 1/3 of all their products are exported to the US. Oh, by the way, China just announced they are releasing our people.

-- David in NH (grayfoxfarm@mcttelecom.com), April 11, 2001.

Response to interested in a boycott? its a rowdy t opic

a little clever trick that lots of companies use is to get all te pieces made in China and then assemble a part of it in the USA or Italy or wherever and then stick a big ole Made in the USA or Made in italy tag on it!!

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmail.com), April 11, 2001.

Something just happened to me to drive your point home. My daughter lost the nut that holds the front wheel on her bicycle. I took the other nut and went to a local hardware store. I thought I found the right nut. I took it home, but it would not go on the threaded axle. I looked at where it was made. Made in China. All the hardware was metric. Another trip to the hardware store to determine it was a 8mm fine thread. Hardware had 8mm, but not fine thread. Thought I was going to have to change everything over to American, but took a chance and stopped by Quality Farm & Fleet. They actually had a nut that fit! At work they are asking us to look to more overseas suppliers, (I am a buyer for a refrigerator manufacturer). Have to keep reducing cost. This is all good until you go to war with one of your critcal suppliers!

-- Curt(IN) (sarah0724@excite.com), April 11, 2001.

I love the idea, but is it realistic? Personally I think we should go back to making our own stuff & bartering. We really do need to support our local businesses. Where I work we make fasteners, nuts & bolts and we pride ourselves on being American made and only in America.

-- Bob (WI) (buksnort@mwt.net), April 11, 2001.

I've essentially stopped buying Chinese-made goods for about 5 years now. The only time I buy something that was made in China is if I absolutely cannot do without it and there is no other alternative available. As you would suspect, this can sometimes be a difficult proposition, especially with clothing, and prices are often higher. On the other hand, I've found the quality of goods to be much better than Chinese-made items. Human rights violations won't stop once are "detainees" come back to the US and I don't feel right supporting a communist government. My preference is to buy stuff made as close to home as I can get it, often by local craftspeople if I can get it.

-- Michael Nuckols (nuckolsm@wildak.net), April 11, 2001.

This reminds me of the days many many yrs ago when the US label was so important and that the union made lables here were important for our companies to stay. But guess the companies can get cheaper labor overseas and less hassles.

I seriously contemplated it, in fact i will not eat Chinese food any longer, but thats just my own little "boycott" and no.... its not because they eat cats or dogs, its because of what they are doing to cats and dogs. About 2 yrs ago I watched a report on either Dateline or 20/20 about how the Chinese were skinning dogs and cats alive for their fur and selling the skins as leather for those nice leather coats we see that are cheap. i was appalled. I sat there with my dog Pup-Pup on the couch and about cried, but i am a bleeding heart for animals too. i was so shocked, i watched as a Chinese man took this German Shepard out of a cage and then proceeded to skin the dog from the back legs frontward, this was on TV, the poor dog was screaming in pain, that got to me. It was a secret tape and had to be smuggled out of China. They man doing it posed as a buyer and wanted to get the scoop, if he messed up once and they suspected he would have been dead. And the they showed the cat too. It was just so sad. But then, we need to keep in perspective, they utalize cats and dogs as we do cows and goats or sheep, pigs, etc. Guess its hard to be too critical of them as thats their culture. But as for boycotting, well... they did release our men and women today so maybe this is all over, i hope. I wouldn't want to get the Chinese too upset.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Gee.... sounds like another forum I am on....

Do you realize how hard that would be????

Can't drive a car, watch tv, listen to a stereo, use your computer, eat anything from a store, use garden tools, etc. etc. etc. I don't think a lot of folks realize that even if the *product* doesn't come from China....... some if its parts are more than likely to come from there.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 11, 2001.

The main reason that a boycot will not work is simple math. There are four Chinese for every one American. We are outnumbered. (4 to 1 ).

Americans will not work for $1 per hour, Chinese will. It's all about money.

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

My response is similar to Michael N's above - for about 8 years now I look around for the non-Chinese alternative and usually find it at a higher price. The only time I've been stuck is when I needed safety plugs, to keep babies from sticking fingers in sockets. If you see something in a catalogue or flyer that looks too cheap to be true, it's probably made in China. Some things we have to just do without, or we try to find it used (which I will buy if it's made in China, assuming the quality is halfway decent) since no one is making a profit on it. I've been doing this, by the way because of China's horrible human rights policies - forced abortions, religious persecution, etc. By the way, my kids understand how I feel, so it makes it pretty easy to avoid having to give in to their "I want that" problems - I just tell them it's made in China and we can't buy it (as most toys are).

-- Christina (introibo@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Last year Joh Deere made an agreement to have tractors made in china, I have seen and know people who have had Chinese tractors, they are junk. If i were to boycott goods made in China there would be little left on the shelves that I could use. If CS'ider out there buys from Harbor Freight or Nothern, they are getting mostly Chinese products, in fact, I call them China Freight. I try to avoid products made in china but not for moral or political reasons, my reason is because the quality is so poor, tho this last little business with the spy plane, helps me try to stay away from their junk even more. I can remember when Japanese products were inferior and we all looked down on them too but they are now top of the line but the Japs are having there things made in China too. When they say "Global Economy" that is what it is. It is hard to find anything made in this country, outside of cottage industry, arts & crafts.

-- Hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), April 13, 2001.

Boycott Gene and dont let anyone tell you differently. It takes some adjustments at first because a person actually has to put thought into the products they want and where to get them. We dont buy Chinese and I dont see that there is any reason you should have to. Its important that we all do what we can because there is no such thing as a Chinese business as we think of a business. Their companies are all linked back to the Chinese government, usually through the military. So every time you buy a "cheap" toy for one of your children you must realize that you are also paying for a bullet that some Chinese soldier will shoot at your grandchildren...

-- William in Wi (gnarledmaw@lycos.com), April 13, 2001.

If you can find any Chinese product worth a handful of rat turd, it would be a miracle. Does anyone think there is a Chinese person working for a bowl of rice, who has pride in his/her product ?? It wouldn't be reasonable to expect that. I am an aerospace machinist who will no longer buy a tool without the mark of "Starrett" on it. I realize full well that everyone can't buy the best, but the sad fact is you get what you pay for. Mexican products are junk as well. I just today bought a 4 slice toaster made in Mexico, and unfortunately only two of the four toast wells work. It is going back Tuesday. Oh well, I get what I pay for.........

-- Glenn (gj_usa1@yahoo.com), April 15, 2001.

If you want to boycott Chinese made goods please make the effort to figure out just what it is you are trying to achieve. If you have a real fear that your grandchildren might have to face the PLA do you think boycotting their goods now will lessen that likliehood?

-- john hill (john@cnd.co.nz), April 16, 2001.

Boycotting China is a matter of concience. And if we keep buying and buying China products, more and more of US companies will move their shops there. We've gotta think smart. If we want quality, we've gotta go out and find the US product that still exist and send a message to those companies that it is still proffitable to manufacture in America. American jobs are at stake. Not everyone can work at a retail store and sell chinese products. Think about your kids future here. I loathe everything the chinese stand for and I won't not help their cause with my dime. I've saved lots of money by reading the label. Julie D.

-- Julie D. (jdavis@vol.com), April 16, 2001.

so you know, even all your 100% american made items are largely derived from foreign raw materials... russian steel, latin American tin, etc, etc

-- Erik (erikmiller1@yahoo.com), April 17, 2001.

Yes, some of us know we have been sold out through Commerce and lack of knowledge. We were led, blindly along, because we did not take time to actually "Think". I propose this Hot Potato to you to toss around, and see who winds up with it, Flaming....Your choice, to proceed. I have not been succesful. Way back..... in the 1980's Guantanamo Bay (such a hot political potato) sought to seek a a "kind and gentle" way of rewarding the cubans who were also symphetic. So what?, the Cubans remained on base. The average tax payer, pays for their housing and electricity. Not unlike the the "House boys" the 1960's military had. It wasn't pretty, but it was real. So while I am here in America, and I am paying taxes out the Yazoo. Has anyone ever given any thought as to Why we pay foreigns? Why is do you fix their teeth and not yet mine? while yet military dollars fix and pay for a foreigner? Your Choice......

-- My Story (andi@sticking.com), April 17, 2001.