Boycotting China

A few weeks ago Ms. Theologian asked me if I would do a guest blog entry on her blog about my family's avoidance of China-made goods. I told her then I would do it, and I had the best of intentions. Since then though, I have been avoiding writing that blog entry more diligently than I have been avoiding buying goods that were made in China.

I think I felt a little intimidated because, while we do avoid buying made in China goods, I am not an expert on the subject, have only been doing it a short while, and don't always even know why we do it. And also because sometimes I just forget that I am boycotting China. It sneaks up on me sometimes and before I know it, Chinese contraband ends up in a shopping bag on its way home to my house. So, I am a hypocrite too.

I also checked out Ms. Theologian's link to her No China Diet label, and I think she has a much better grasp on this than I do. So, in lieu of writing a well thought out essay of my family's experiences with this no China project, I am just going to dump some thoughts on the matter out here, and hope that somebody out there can glean something out of it.

First, do we totally boycott China made goods?

No and Yes. For the last few years we have done our best to minimize the purchase of any new, store-bought goods, and have both become increasingly aware of the difficulty of finding just about anything that was not made in some far off distant land, and especially China. We have built up to the idea of "boycotting" China over a few years as the Chinese industrial powerhouse continues to grow, seemingly taking over the manufacturing world, and as the Chinese government's policies become more and more blatantly disturbing: wanton disregard for the environmental consequences of its industrialization, utter lack of respect for fundamental human rights, such as freedom of religion (remember Falun Gong?), obstruction of UN efforts to take a strong stand on Darfur, and the maintenance of the foreign policy position that China has the right to retake (by force, if China so decides) Taiwan at any time, to name but a few problematic areas.

As 2007 approached, my husband made the personal decision to no longer purchase anything made in China. Adam embarked on a total made-in-China boycott. I was a reluctant follower, because, frankly, I get tired of trying to do the "right" thing all the time. And I like things. I like to shop for fun, and I love buying shoes. But, I agreed to at the very least become more label conscious and to always check where everything is made before I buy it. To be frank, while yes, I do still splurge occasionally on something for the kids made in China or a new pair of shoes, I am always aware of what I am doing. And I am doing it less and less. I like to think of my style of shopping as, "conscious consuming." Adam however, is now halfway through the year and has not bought a single item made from China.

So, if we are not buying made in China goods, what are we buying?

The biggest thing we are doing is buying used. If we buy from a garage sale, a thrift store, consignment store, or other similar venue, it is not considered buying from China according to our rules. That's because any revenue that the government of China is going to accrue from the production of the goods has already been realized, and our re-purchase of the goods doesn't put any additional money into the pockets of the Chinese government. We don't check the label, and we count the purchase as good goods no matter where it was originally produced.

The biggest motivator here for me is not contributing to the production of new-in-box items, and I am generally supporting local businesses or individuals at the same time. As an added bonus, I have made pretty good friends with a great lady named Holly who owns a kick-ass consignment store for kids, including women's clothing. We all need new friends.

And perhaps even more in line with our conscious consuming project, is that we are just not buying. I am resisting more purchases than I am making. I am saying no to my kids, even when it's sad, or hard to do so. It is hard to be wheeling down a store aisle with a baby who just lights up at a little bouncy ball that is only 99 cents. It's ONLY 99 cents, and it would make him so happy. And saying no, makes him so sad.

It is hard to spend a day at a wonderful museum, then visit a gift store that has wonderful gift items that would commemorate the experience wonderfully, and provide educational benefit at the same time, and then say no.

It is hard to say to a ten year old or a teenager, "sorry - but that thing that everybody else has that you think you need and that you love so much, is made in China. I can't buy it for you."

But we are saying no anyway. We are saying no, and then making a trip later in the week to that awesome consignment store I mentioned earlier. Sometimes it's enough, and sometimes it's not.

If we are buying new, we are doing our best to buy Made in the U.S.A. When that doesn't present itself as an option (an immediate one anyway, I tend to be kind of lazy about this sometimes), we buy from anywhere that is NOT China. This is usually do-able. It is sort of akin to buying from Target or K-Mart instead of Wal-Mart, and sometimes it does feel like a waste of energy. It isn't as if working conditions are any better for laborers in Vietnam than in China, as a general rule. But, it isn't ONLY China's poor human rights/labor abuse records that we are protesting. The Chinese government, and more accurately, the U.S. support for the massive Chinese export industry, bothers us on a few levels.

What are we finding is the most difficult aspect of boycotting China made goods, and where have we failed?

Shoes. Shoes are hard.

My husband especially, who is 100% committed to this project, has had to really extend the life of a pair of work shoes far past the point of what is probably socially acceptable in a professional work environment. If he wasn't as committed to purchasing non-animal made shoes, he would have an easier, albeit pricier time finding them. As it is, he has been struggling to purchase these Moo Shoes, but they seem to be perpetually out of stock. As far as running shoes, he lucked out and found some that were made in Vietnam. I keep meaning to mention he should go back and buy another pair to keep aside for later.I think the key is to continue looking relentlessly until you find something.

Kids shoes - for my baby, I can always find some second hand, especially If I buy ahead of time. For my ten and 14 year old sons, well... I cave. The last pair of shoes I bought for either one of them was of your pretty mainstream, made in China variety. I HAVE found second hand for the ten year old, but it's not ideal. Although, since my husband found those made in Vietnam shoes, I am not giving up hope.

For me, I am finding affordable (key word: affordable) women's shoes, especially of the dressy, trendy variety that I like, to be difficult as well. In fact, I think that every Chinese made indulgence I have made for myself this year has been for shoes. One pair that I haven't even worn yet, and have nothing to match. I wouldn't call my weakness for cheap Chinese made high heels a necessity; I call a personal consumer weakness.

School Supplies and other "Required Purchases"

Sometimes you just can't get around it, or you are just too tired to get around it. I suppose I could tell my kids' teachers that they won't be bringing their crayons to school this year because we couldn't find any that were made here, but that doesn't seem right. I have found though, that when you REALLY dig, you can usually find something that wasn't made in China. For example, I found some Crayola markers the other day that were made in the U.S.A, but not all varieties were, only the traditional 8 pack was.

Other tough stuff? Gifts and Small Appliances.

The gifts. Wow, every time I have to buy a gift-type item, especially those that are meant to be gifty rather than useful, I hit a wall. I can always find something that wasn't made in China, it's more that sometimes I have trouble finding something that I think the other person would appreciate.

For example, if I am invited to an infant's birthday party, especially one that I only know in that playgroup-mom sort of way, will they really appreciate that I spent $30 on a locally made set of blocks that comes from sustainable wood, when I can buy the same thing for $5 at K-mart? And do I want to spend $30 on this baby who I don't even really know? And people, in general, don't really want those second hand things I have come to love either.

And what to put those gifts in? I am personally a big fan of the gift basket, but to buy a basket that was not made in China, much less a responsibly purchased basket is NOT cheap. And the basket really shouldn't cost more than the gift. So, I am still in the problem-solving stage on that one. I am considering just giving up the gift basket idea all together and resorting to simply re-using boxes and wrapping them in newspaper. But that makes me kind of bummed out really, my baskets were so pretty, and even I get tired of being the hippy-mom who comes prancing in with the newspaper wrapped box.

What about the purchases children make?

If our kids have money, they spend it how they please. They know how we feel, and sometimes that suppress an urge to buy, and sometimes they don't

What is the real benefit to boycotting China ?

Do I think I am making some big impact on the world? Not really. Do I think that boycotting Chinese made goods is sending a loud message to the Chinese government and the U.S. import companies that purchase the goods? No. I really doubt that I am making a dent in the big world picture. So why do we do it?

Mostly, it's the whole conscious consuming thing. Now, more than ever before, I am analyzing each and every purchase that I make. I look at labels without even thinking about it. I am not only thinking about where it is made, but the total, overall impact that the purchase of this product has in terms of human quality of life issues, climate change issues or other eco-concerns, and simply thinking more and more about the value of "stuff" in our lives.

And when that stuff does deem itself valuable, I am taking much better care of it. I find myself paying more attention to small things because I can't "just get another one." Getting more involved in the consignment cycle has me caring for our things much more carefully as well. I spent quite a bit of time one afternoon scrubbing down the soles of a pair of infant tennis shoes so I could consign them and get credit for buying my next pair. Not too long ago, I would have tossed those babies in a Goodwill pile and never thought twice about it.

What are the downsides to boycotting China?

Well, it takes the fun out of one of my former favorite past times. Today I was shopping at a toy store for a gift for a friend, and decided to "spoil" my own baby with an extra purchase. I spent an hour in that store picking up items, looking at labels, and setting them back down. I did finally purchase one thing that was made in Vietnam. The truth of the matter is that he needs more toys like we all need another hole in our heads, forgive the cliche, and mommy just has an addiction to buying stuff that she just hasn't gotten over.

In the same vein, a downside that is hard to get used to is just doing without, and letting go of former ideas of style. Those cute sunglasses everyone is wearing now? You guessed it. Made in China. And I suspect I could buy an MP3 player that wasn't made in China, maybe, but I haven't even bothered to look for one. Not because I don't want one, but because, well ... just because I don't really need one. Not yet anyway.

The emotional toll is hard on me as well, though I don't think it is so much on my husband.

I think the phrase "No China Diet" sums it up well.

I also like to eat healthy, but have a long standing, toxic relationship with junk food. I go long periods of time eating well, and then binge on donuts and fast food. Then I beat myself up and feel guilty about it. That doesn't do anyone any good, but it's there. It's the same thing with shopping. You pick up and move on. Those totally cute but impractical high heels I bought two weeks ago? Not my best moment, but I'll think about those shoes the next time I want to make a impulse buy.