OT Do you care were the products you buy are made

[Puke]

quality and craftsmanship. while politics amuse me, and i certainly have my share of views on them, i dont let them effect my day-to-day life. which is probably why my world view disgusts so many people.

but back to quality and craftsmanship, there are some regional and national determinations for that. Asia tends to have crap for metal. Some good craftsmen and companies to buy tools from, but you better do your research and make sure that their metal is imported.

A handfull of European countries produce fine clothing. Lots of places produce quality and durable casual-wear, but i sure as heck wouldn't buy suits from "lots of places."

All told, im a big supporter of the global economy. it has its down sides, but I like it both as an idea, and in practice (realizing full well its a very different animal in theory and in practice [assuming that you take theory to equal propoganda, it could be argued that theory and practice are actually identical])

what i REALLY hate, are people who use nested parenthetical statements in forum Posts. jackasses.

[dogscoff]

I tend to boycott companies rather than countries- for example, I won't shop at Asda (Walmart-owned) or buy Nestle products or get petrol from Shell. I don't touch Mcdonald's any more, and if I did smoke I'd have real trouble finding someone I was prepared to buy tobacco from. It's kind of haphazard since I don't go and inform myself on every single supplier's ethical history, so I'm probably taking money away from one bastard corporation and just feeding it into another, but it gives me that lovely smug feeling and where possible I do aim for companies that go out of their way to be good.

I always buy free range and biodegradable, and I do like to go for locally produced stuff (especially food) for environmental reasons, but then at the same time I'm also kind of rebelling against the blind stupidity of "Buy British Beef", so I'll sometimes buy foriegn meat just to be awkward. People here seem to think that British meat must be BSE free because... well... because it has our flag stamped on the packet. Morons. The BSE outbreak here was handled extremely badly, and seemed to rely on rallying patriotism rather than, say, getting rid of the disease. I hope you yanks deal with it better than we did. We're now looking at yet another food scare with salmon and- guess what- it all stems from the fact that these animals are being fed ground-up offal from members of their own species. When we we learn that forcing cannibalism on these creatures might cut costs but in the long run it isn't doing anyone any favours?

I'd like to boycott US products until GWB is out of office because of the Iraq war, but if I did that I'd have to boycott UK products until Blair was out of office as well, but since I live in the UK that would be difficult. That said I never buy american beer but that's only because it's crap.

[ January 14, 2004, 07:38: Message edited by: dogscoff ]

[Puke]

carefull about sweeping generalizations there. There are some very good beers brewed here, though probably not the sort that are likely to be sold on your side of the pond.

Try looking for imported micro-brews, or check out some brew pubs the next time you go traveling.

[General Woundwort]

Originally posted by rextorres:
I think from political stand point China is a lot more noxious than France.

Not to mention rumors I've heard of the Chinese using political/criminal prisoners as slave labor in their factories. I'm getting to be really wary (not to mention weary) of all the things I see labeled "Made in China" in the stores. But there's so damn much of the stuff it's getting difficult to avoid.

Sadly Ironic Case in Point - I got a mug from a friend of mine as a gift. Typical post-9/11 stuff - American flag on the background, large script lettering "God Bless America". The label on the bottom? "Made in China".

[narf poit chez BOOM]

china is clearly the next big threat. 'when china wakes up, the world will tremble' - Napoleon.

[primitive]

Originally posted by General Woundwort:
Not to mention rumors I've heard of the Chinese using political/criminal prisoners as slave labor in their factories. I'm getting to be really wary (not to mention weary) of all the things I see labeled "Made in China" in the stores. But there's so damn much of the stuff it's getting difficult to avoid.

Just a little comment General W.
The work system of many American penal facilities is also labelled as Slave labour by many human rights organisations.

[Growltigger]

I feel quite strongly on this, and I admit, take a similar stance to Dogscoff.

I boycott companies. I do not shop at several supermarkets which are either owned by companies which have policies I disagree with, or are particularily notorious for giving farmers a poor deal. I do not buy Proctor & Gamble products (they test non-medecines on animals) or Nike/Adidias products (slave labour in Eastern bloc/Asian countries), I do not eat at McDonalds, I do not buy petrol from Shell or Texaco, the list goes on. I boycott a company once I become aware (and I do read the FT and Times every day) that it has unethical policies.

I am a bit of a hypocrite here though because I smoke (although I currently trying to give up)

That being said, I tend to gravitate toward products from countries which I feel are well made. For example, my cars are diesel (low sulphur of course) but are both German (except for my old land rover). My household appliances, from the iron to the fridge, are all German (Bosch and Neff). I buy these due to reliability, and that post-WWII, the german companies have done more than most to introduce to decent practices in their factories, following on from the slave labour accusations justifiably made from WWII.

In relation to food, I buy local products. I always buy organic meat (not just free range, but organic). I buy organic vegetables, I buy organic wheat, and make my own bread (only way to get my nails really clean). I recycle pLastic bottles, tin cans, glass and has the famous compost heap which devours all vegetable waste from the kitchen. I dont buy food products grown in countries I have an ethical problem with.

Buying organic may not avoid all the BSE problems we have had in UK, but it does obviate part of the risk as the organic certification I buy require the herds to have been BSE free at all times.

BUT organic meat tastes better to me. It certainly has a better texture. I am slightly hypocritical here to cos I do go shooting pheasants. But I do always take away and eat what I shoot

I also bank with an ethical bank here in the UK, and my pension funds are invested in what I consider to be ethical investments. I do not invest in arms, tobacco or anything like that. Took bloody ages to sort out, but I feel better for doing that!

I do boycott US products, but primarily as I think the food produce is inferior (american cheese? YUKKK) and the beer has obviously been recycled - must be pure though after passing through so many kidneys before mine!!! I dont really buy electronic goods but those I have are made in Germany or Holland. I check place of manufacture of these quite carefully.