Made in China is not okay
A while ago, I decided to stop buying toys and other children's products (like sippy cups) that are made in China. For some things, it is almost impossible to find a product that is not made in China, but I'm doing my best. I'm doing this for several reasons:
1. They're dangerous. Last year, more than 10 million toys from China were recalled for unsafe lead levels and other toxins, and even more were recalled for other reasons. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/14/recall/index.html) This year seems to be more of the same. Part of the problem is that the drive from companies like Hasbro, Mattel, and Disney to keep prices down tempt foreign manufacturers to be lax with safety protocols.
2. They're unethical. China and several other Asian countries are consistently the worst offenders in terms of violations of codes regarding child labor, fair wages, and humane working conditions (http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/).
3. We need to keep American money in America. This is just another example of outsourcing, and in this case the foreign factories are using appalling practices to provide an inferior product.
4. They're just not as good. Because Chinese-made toys are made from cheaper materials to keep the costs down, they break easily. When we visited my grandfather's house a couple weeks ago, I had the joy of watching my son play with toys that I remember playing with as a child, some of which even belonged to my father and his siblings when they were kids. I want my son to be able to get the same kind of longevity out of his toys. I would rather he have one durable, handcrafted toy made in the USA than 10 cheap Chinese-made toys that will break in a few weeks.
1. They're dangerous. Last year, more than 10 million toys from China were recalled for unsafe lead levels and other toxins, and even more were recalled for other reasons. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/14/recall/index.html) This year seems to be more of the same. Part of the problem is that the drive from companies like Hasbro, Mattel, and Disney to keep prices down tempt foreign manufacturers to be lax with safety protocols.
2. They're unethical. China and several other Asian countries are consistently the worst offenders in terms of violations of codes regarding child labor, fair wages, and humane working conditions (http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/).
3. We need to keep American money in America. This is just another example of outsourcing, and in this case the foreign factories are using appalling practices to provide an inferior product.
4. They're just not as good. Because Chinese-made toys are made from cheaper materials to keep the costs down, they break easily. When we visited my grandfather's house a couple weeks ago, I had the joy of watching my son play with toys that I remember playing with as a child, some of which even belonged to my father and his siblings when they were kids. I want my son to be able to get the same kind of longevity out of his toys. I would rather he have one durable, handcrafted toy made in the USA than 10 cheap Chinese-made toys that will break in a few weeks.