Sunday, November 11, 2012

Buy nothing from China update: a little Saturday shopping


So far, my goal of buying nothing made in China has been gong well.  I think this is the case for a couple of reasons:

  1. It turns out I really don't buy much stuff, and 
  2. with a little looking I have always been able to find a similar product made in the USA, or, if not, just made somewhere else other than China.

Things had been going well, until yesterday.  I tried to get four items, a lunch box, a dog harness, a USB flash drive, and gloves for my wife.  Easy enough, right?
I need to replace my lunchbox- the bag I bring to work everyday, whether I am in the field or in the office.  Several years ago I switched from a hard sided cooler to a soft sided cooler to fit in my bike panniers and to squeeze into place on our work boats.
Now (actually a year ago) it is time to replace the cooler.  I am kind of picky about stuff I buy, so sometimes it takes me a while to find the right things, but I can't find any coolers made anywhere on earth other than in China!

Columbia (the maker of my current cooler), what I thought was a good old American company, from Portland, Oregon or something- I recall the grandma ads, like a family business from the Pacific Northwest.  Whatever.  Evidently, it seems like they don't make anything in the USA anymore.
I have been looking for a new cooler/ lunch box for a while, but I haven't found exactly what I was looking for and when I have been close  they have all been made in China.*
 
And where I finally reached a frustrating experience is when I went to REI to look at one of their products, which, online, seemed like the perfect combination of features.  However, on their website, the county of origin was listed as "imported", so I had to go to the store to see for myself where they were made.    I figured they would be made in Indonesia, or Vietnam, and I was fine with that.
At the store, to my delight I found the wall of the coolers of my dreams.  This was it, my search had ended!  I confirmed that this was the perfect cooler for my use, but where was the country of origin label? After some doing, I found it, and sure enough, "made in China".

This was really frustrating and I even thought "what's the point", and questioned whether this was a fool's errand (which it probably is, but I am kind of stubborn and idealistic).  I left the Co-op really disillusioned.

OK, I thought, on to errand two, a dog harness for our new (to us) micro-dog.  I tried to find a suitable harness at a couple of other places in Missoula but all those harnesses were made in China, so I went to the boutique-y pet supply store (Go Fetch!), thinking that I'd pay more than at the chain, big box, pet store, but maybe they'd have stuff made locally or in Cambodia.  I got the feeling that this sort of store catered to the well-heeled (nice pun) dog owner, and that money spent on their pet-children was no object (like us).  It turns out they had the perfect harness- but, you guessed it, it was made in China- it seemed like everything there was made in China.  I don't know if it was intentional or not but the store placed the price stickers over the country of origin indication on many of their products.  I had to peel these off to see where things were made (this probably looked a little suspicious).

The next errand was to get a USB flash drive, most it turns out are made in China.  But by paying twice as much (about $27 compared to $12-15 depending on brand), I was able to get one made in the USA, and I was happy to do it. My last errand was to get my wife a new pair of hunting gloves, and I couldn't find any that were not made in China.  So, I was 1-4, and pretty discouraged.

I have been impressed and surprised by a few things I've purchased, and I have come to realize you really have to look hard for the country of origin.

Tools, in general, are hard to find that aren't made in China, that is why I have to give a shout out to:

  • Whiteside router bits- fantastic quality, great prices and all made in the USA.  I have been buying their router bits for years, and I am relived to know that when I need a new one, I know a company I can go to.

Another thing that I have been surprised by, unfortunately, is how many different things ion our daily lives are made in China- ranging from foods, to screws, to even hand warmers  lots of little things.  I used to think more expensive items were made in China because of the significant cost savings, but it turns out almost anything is.

Our big upcoming purchase is replacing our 1960 furnace and 1990 hot water heater.  This process has been a very difficult challenge navigating greenwashing (we have been thinking about these purchases for years- click here for my thoughts about greenwashing), energy efficiency, economics, cost/ benefit analyses, challenging both conventional wisdom and resisting trendy options, etc...  This process is probably worthy of a few blog posts!  The good news is, we are excited about our ultimate choices and they reflect a good balance between efficiency and economy, but lack the "Prius" factor.  They are un-glamorous solutions that fit our needs and budget.  Plus, all the components are made in the USA!

*editor's note:  The good news is, that I found several online manufacturers that make coolers similar to what I am looking for and they are made in the USA!

15 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update on your buying local project. We tried something similar when looking for a couple of new big ticket items (a new appliance and bicycles for myself and the missus) over the last few years. We ended up buying bikes from a company called Worksman (made in New York). And while their customer service was sorely lacking, we were happy to buy a "Made in the USA" product.

    I can't even begin to contemplate the complexity of your endeavor, to buy nothing from China at all. If nothing else it really does make you stop and investigate the country of origin of all the little things you buy without much thought. Thanks for the inspiration, we might give this a try ourselves.

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    1. Thanks for the ocmments, i hope you do try this out- it has been really educational if nothing else. I am starting to realize that buying nothing from China is not too difficult, it just takes some patience, creativity and a little more money (sometimes). But if I were trying to buy only from the USA, that would be really hard. Next year.

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  2. Dog harness - the best I've found for fit and quality are made by Premier and made in the USA. Here is a link to one of the places online I get them from...but you can google more.
    http://www.sitstay.com/dog/supplies/servlet/category_Sure-Fit%20Harnesses_10001_10001_26904_-1_13273_13272

    I think buying domestic is harder too here in smaller town Montana, that is why I resort often to online.

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    1. I agree- online shopping is a great way to go and often faster and less resource intensive! I try to find stuff locally first, even if I do all the investigating online ahead of time. Thanks!

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  3. Please understand, that sometimes when you refuse to purchase anything made overseas, you may actually be hurting a small business in America. Case in point, I am an author, illustrator and independent publisher of storybooks. My editing, layout and design work all takes place in the USA, but my books are manufactured in Hong Kong. Why is that? I would love to print my books here, but there in there are only 2 book manufacturers in U.S. that do the kind of stitching my books require and they will only stitch textbooks. Also, to manufacture my books in this country would cost at least 5 times what I pay in Hong Kong, which means I would have to raise my prices to such a degree that I would not be able to sell them. And here's the rub, where do I spend my money that I get from selling my books? I spend it in the good old USA. Go into a book store and see how many books are published in America, not many. There is a reason. Please don't hurt small businesses that depend on out of country manufacture to produce their goods. We are Patriots too.

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  4. It's pretty frustrating. I look for origin on labels all the time, even on food. For some items I've turned to Goodwill or other thrift stores, so that at least I’m reusing or repurposing. Other things I stop to wonder if I can make it myself instead (I'd think a dog leash would be doable); then search online or go to the library if I need how-to help.

    Also I wanted to mention sites like Etsy or Artfire where you can find handmade by American small businesses or even used or vintage (like gloves).

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    1. I know! It is amazing how much stuff comes from china- even a lot of things I have always assumed were produced locally. Now I am just in the habit of checking EVERYTHING I am thinking about buying. It is really disappointing sometimes.
      Thanks for your comments!

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  5. I have reverted to online shopping myself, and although the shipping requires resources, it is less than my gallivanting around town searching for my purchases!!!
    And who is your new addition to the family?? I have two small dogs...would love to see yours!!! How are the cats managing??? :)

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    1. I agree about online shopping. As far as the new family member- take a look at the new poll and the Cat of the Year, 2012!

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  6. @charlie b.:

    For the record, the items on Etsy at least (don't know about Artfire) are frequently mass-produced merch being resold by people who are only pretending to have made it. The merchandise, resellers, or both are often Chinese as well.

    You might think that Etsy would care about this and attempt to stop it, but all available evidence suggests that they have no interest in either, and in fact scold people who try to point out people who are reselling instead of handcrafting. (Ostensibly, the reason is something about trying to keep things positive in the forums; what it actually is is that Etsy makes their money as a percentage of what gets sold, and consequently has a financial interest in seeing as much crap sell via the site as possible, whatever its origin.) Regretsy has been all over this for some time; see also Callin' Out On Etsy.

    Which is not to say there aren't deserving Etsy stores to be found, just that it's a good idea to do some investigation before placing a sale. Often, the same item can be found at a large retailer like Target for significantly less money.

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  7. Thanks for the info, pointing that out. I didn't know about the sites you had linked. I suggested that as an alternate choice since I know people who sell on Etsy. Also I read/follow some artists’ blogs (who sell on Etsy, Artfire, their own website) in which case you get a better sense of who they are, what they do, what's involved in their work. But yeah, unfortunately the shysters are out there, so I agree on investigation of the maker if at all possible.

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  8. Dave, Have you found a cooler yet? Here is an option, not made in the US though... http://lifewithoutplastic.com/boutique/wool-insulated-natural-lunch-bag-green-trim-new-p-666.html

    Andrea S

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    1. Hi Andrea,
      Yes, I did get a cooler, one from a great American company Bags Elite http://www.bagselite.com/. It is super well made, and very durable. Likely the last lunch box I buy! Thanks for the suggestion, and I like the idea of buying a natural and wool product.

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  9. You've got your work cut out for you, it's getting really hard not to buy things if made in China. I try to buy locally and by that I mean North America. Restricting myself just to Canada is almost impossible.

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    1. It has been a really fun and educational exercise. Like I mentioned, not buying from China seems doable, but only buying from the USA will prove to be much more of a challenge and I may take that up next year! I'll keep you posted! Thanks for your comments!

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