Made in China or Not

That was the name of my second blog, which I decided to abandoned because I felt it was a bit too narrow a topic to keep me going with material, particularly since I buy so few new things. However, I would like to occasionally return to the topic and pass on a few tips as I can.

The idea my wife and I came up with was to try and buy nothing "Made in China" for one year. How difficult is this to do? Go down the aisles in any store, especially those big box stores like K-Mart, and randomly pick up a product. A hundred to one says it was made from our generous lenders in China.

We didn't make this pledge out of any particular animosity for the Chinese, though most of these goods are generally of poor quality, in my opinion. That's why K-Mart sells so many items from there for so cheaply. But I've also come across the "Made in China" label on products sold by Patagonia! Based on that company's business ethics (and prices!), I would hope they pay a fair wage to their overseas employees. Nor are we committed to buying only things made in the USA. I'm not sure it would be possible to house, clothe and feed two people on such a stipulation.

One of the most difficult things I've tried to find to date was an insulated coffee mug. A trip to Target ended in utter defeat. Six shelves of coffee mugs of different shape and color, short and fat, stainless steel and plastic go-go colors -- all made in China! They did have a nice thermos made in Malaysia (probably by the Chinese Malaysians), but I was out of luck.

And don't think you can go to one of your local 15 Starbucks within a three-block radius -- all made in China. I turned to Amazon.com, purveyor of just about everything on the planet now. Unfortunately, the lengthy product listings don't mention country of origin, so I had to email a couple.

Finally, I came across a company I had never heard of before -- Zojirushi, which is based in Japan. Of course the products aren't made in Japan but Thailand. Still, it was a minor coup, as I can finally retire my South Pole "safety" mug at home that leaks and that holds heat about as well as the new station. So remember the name, Zojirushi. Not made in China.