Over at Middle Zone Musings Robert Hruzek runs a monthly group writing project with the theme “What I learned from…” Every month the “from” is something new, and this month it’s change.
Truthfully, there’s a lot of things that I’d like to change in the world. A long time ago, however, I learned that big changes start small. Changing the world starts with one person and the only person that I can really change for sure is me.
For a while now I’ve been following the blogger at Not China Made (who I really admire, by the way, since she is really changing things through her blog). The blog does a great job of examining the dangers of buying products from China: dangers which not only include lower quality standards (which lead to things like lead in toys and contamination in dog food), but also the danger of supporting human rights violations.
Before reading Not China Made, I can honestly say that I didn’t know much about the working conditions in China or the product quality problems. I didn’t know, for example, that many inexpensive products purchased in the United States are actually made in China.
Now, I’m typically a pretty frugal person and I like to save money as much as the next person, but a getting a product for a few pennies or even a few dollars less is not worth it to me if it means that the product is unsafe or encourages human rights violations in another country.
A few weeks ago we tried to go China-free for our back-to-school shopping … with mixed results. I’m pleased to say that we were able to find most of the inexpensive items (pencils, markers, etc.) fairly easily. Sadly, we couldn’t find several “big-ticket” items on our list (backpacks, for example) without the “made in China” tag, even after going to four different stores.
Yes, I’ve become a tag-checker and the results have both surprised me and frustrated me. Since we’re going to be moving soon last week and we need a few new items of furniture we visited the Ikea store near us. Yes, I checked the tag and was surprised to see that it was not specific about the country of origin, citing that Ikea furniture was manufactured in many different countires. I did, however, find this statement at the Ikea website, which has me wondering if it’s okay to buy Ikea, or not.
All of this to say that what I learned from changing my shopping habits is that, when it comes to something important, it’s much harder to change than I thought.
This post has been my entry into Robert Hruzek’s latest What I Learned From… project.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.
8 responses so far ↓
1 mommy zabs @ notchinamade.net // Sep 8, 2007 at
Hey Girl! Thank you for the props! And links! This is a great post and I’m so glad to have influenced this as others have influenced me!
Also, you should check out the latest post on my mommyzabs site. I think you and this blog would both be really great for some of the opportunities I linked to there. I would just email this to you but it is easier to just send you to the post since I already have it all written there 🙂
God Bless,
Mommy Zabs
2 Sylvia C. // Sep 8, 2007 at
You make such a valid point that big changes must start small (and only YOU can really change YOU).
I am impressed that you went through all of the “trouble” to stick to your principle when school shopping. Very few people would do that today.
Hats off to you.
truly,
Sylvia C.
3 Robert Hruzek // Sep 8, 2007 at
Laura, kudos for actually doing something about how you feel, instead of just talking about it! Changes like this are all the more important when you find out just how hard it will be to actually make the change!
Thanks for the contribution to this month’s writing project! 🙂
4 Traveller // Sep 9, 2007 at
Must be tough to go ‘China free’ in the US! I read another blog by someone who tried doing this for a week, and it was frustrating for the person because it is really difficult given that almost every toy, many clothing and shoe brands, and gadgets are sourced from there. In some cases, you may buy an American product that in turn uses Chinese components.
As a traveller, I find it interesting that when I buy mementoes from shops in the US, Switzerland, or even in Buckingham Palace, London, to remember my vists to these places, they are most often made in China which sort of spoils the experience a little.
5 alicia // Sep 9, 2007 at
Changing the world starts with one person and the only person that I can really change for sure is me.
Amen to that. It’s the same response I give everyone who says, “It’s not like it’s going to make a difference if you stop buying meat/products tested on animals, etc.”
(which lead to things like lead in toys and contamination in dog food)
Don’t forget cat food. I lost my kitty thanks to those ********. (Whomever those ******** may be – quality control, money-hungries looking to save a buck – whomever.)
Thanks to this post I, too, am going to start checking the “Made In” tags.
6 All Entries: What I Learned From Change | Middle Zone Musings // Sep 10, 2007 at
[…] Changing My Shopping Habits, by Laura Spencer at Writing […]
7 Laura // Sep 10, 2007 at
Hi Mommy Zabs, Sylvia, Robert, Traveller, and Alicia!
First of all, Mommy Zabs I really appreciate the pioneering steps that you have taken in making the public aware of this problem.
Sylvia, thanks for your encouragement.
Robert, I have to admit it took me quite a while to come up with an entry in your group writing project.
Traveller, thanks for chipping in with your unique perspective. I didn’t realize that the situation is as widespread as it apparently is.
Alicia. First of all, I’m terribly sorry about the loss of your kitty. <<>> I feel really fortunate that my dog did not receive any contaminated food. Secondly, I’m glad that I inspired you to check tags. Maybe if enough people do that it will start to make a difference.
8 Links Ahoy! | Freaked-Out Fathers // Sep 18, 2007 at
[…] Changing My Shopping Habits, by Laura Spencer at Writing […]