China is Not the Enemy

Given the nature of this boycott, it may seem absurd to claim that China is not the enemy; however, I wholeheartedly believe this statement to be true.

While I believe that there is value to this boycott and I am concerned with the massive outsourcing of jobs overseas, as well as the quality of goods which we import and consume, and the little bit I understand about our burgeoning trade deficit with China, this boycott has forced me to open my eyes to the fact that our tenuous relationship with China has far deeper roots than mere cheap goods.

I will not even pretend that I know how exactly how this relationship evolved, and yet taking a painful, closer look at my own consumer habits, shows me that I am, in part, a participant in the evolution of the "Made in China" label.

Despite the fact that I have been unemployed for the entire time I have been conducting this boycott, I still manage to consume more, well, crap, than I will ever need. I won't even use some of what I've purchased, but that was almost irrelevant to me when I went shopping.

I am a cheap shopper. Unless it is "urgent", I rarely buy anything that is not on sale. My whole day is better when I am able to buy something I "need" on sale AND I have a coupon for it!

The fact is, three bottle of shampoo, six black tops, ten pairs of jeans and an assortment of high heels I have only because I'm told women wear these awful things, ultimately sit under my bed, in my closet or on the floor until the next thing I buy forces me to find a new home for my old stuff.

I am not alone in this overconsumption. My stuff is a sign that I'm not as broke as I used to be, it's a sign of me, it's a sign of...it's a sign of a lot of things and it is part of the reason jobs in this country are headed overseas, where human beings in poorer countries make the stuff we buy inexpensive enough that we can have disposable everything.

I know my assertion that we all bear a part in the loss of jobs and the inferior quality of the things we buy will not win me many friends, but it is the truth as I see it.

I've tried the "blame big business", "blame the politicians", "blame the Chinese", "blame everyone but me" game and I just can't do it any longer.

Yes, there is a great deal of truth to the outrage that our government should have better regulations in place. Yes, it is true that big business is making ridiculous profits off of cheaper international labor, without passing the money on to the consumer. Yes, it is true that there are Chinese workers who work for a fraction of what most Americans are willing to work for.

These claims all have truth to them, but they also avoid the truth that at the end of the day, we are the consumers and we are the ones who are ultimately responsible for what we buy and how we use our money.

This boycott has been a far larger pain in my ass than I ever imagined it would be. It has frustrated me, caused fights, infuriated me, helped me feel alienated from people, even brought me to tears and yet the fact remains that I "need" very little of what I continue to buy and that there has always been other options for the things I "could not buy."

The fact remains that all over the world human beings like myself slave away in conditions I would never subject myself to, in order to bring me more and more crap at lower and lower prices so it can temporarily fill some void, some need in my life.

Pesticides and Birthday Cards

In the ongoing battle to not buy Chinese made products, I have discovered two unlikely items to be leery of, pesticides and greeting cards.

I discovered the pesticides while helping my mom do yard work. I was getting ready to apply weedkiller around her pool (something which the environmentalist in me was not pleased to be doing) when I noticed that the pump nozzle for this weedkiller was made in China.

In this particular case, I was spared from having to return the product (if that is even possible once you've opened it) because my mom was the one who paid for it, and despite my best efforts, she is, to say the least, disinterested in boycotting anything made in China.

What would she shop for, she asks me? I am cynically thinking that she wouldn't be able to shop for much!

At any rate, I had never considered that we would be unable to buy pesticides, or have to check the packaging of lawn care products prior to purchase. This was never an issue for us when we lived in Chicago and unfortunately, it does not get us out of yard work at my mom's.

When I pointed out to her where the nozzle was made, she told me, "Well, I bought the stuff, not you and I don't boycott stuff made in China, so go down to the pool and spray it on the weeds!"

Wow, it's tough to find compassion in this protest.

Apparently it is also necessary to check the origins of the greeting cards you are about to purchase. A friend of Luke's had warned me that an increasing amount of printed materials where being outsourced to China, but I must confess that until this particular day, I don't recall flipping over the card I was about to buy to see where it was made. Now it appears I will have to.

Good thing I did not put off buying that birthday card until the absolute last minute...I think I had about five minutes left to find a card before I had to leave the store and fortunately there were a few decent "Made in America" cards to choose from, so the birthday was not ruined.

(Aren't you happy to know about the effort I put into your birthday card, honey?)