Saturday night as we were decorating the tree my 8 year old daughter commented, "The Chinese are so talented!"
It came out of left field, so I asked why she said it. "Well, it seems EVERYTHING is MADE IN CHINA!"
That innocent little statement opened a whole can of worms for me. As you know, I'm a gal who loves her trips to Target. My daughters' have little pink "Made in China" Christmas trees in their room from Wal-Mart. Our house is filled with toys, clothing and housewares which were all manufactured by people working for slave wages.
I remember a friend of mine traveled to China and told me about the teenage girls who put the hair in Barbie Dolls' heads for pennies an hour!
I got on the computer and of course there is a ton of information on the subject.
One movie, Mardis Gras: Made in China has won rave reviews for it's peek into the world of Chinese laborers"
Along with the whole lead paint scare there are a myriad of political reasons why many people are boycotting products "Made in China."
If you are interested here are a some articles highlighting this important issue!
It came out of left field, so I asked why she said it. "Well, it seems EVERYTHING is MADE IN CHINA!"
That innocent little statement opened a whole can of worms for me. As you know, I'm a gal who loves her trips to Target. My daughters' have little pink "Made in China" Christmas trees in their room from Wal-Mart. Our house is filled with toys, clothing and housewares which were all manufactured by people working for slave wages.
I remember a friend of mine traveled to China and told me about the teenage girls who put the hair in Barbie Dolls' heads for pennies an hour!
I got on the computer and of course there is a ton of information on the subject.
One movie, Mardis Gras: Made in China has won rave reviews for it's peek into the world of Chinese laborers"
"Mardi Gras: Made in China," looks at the conditions in a factory in the Chinese city of Fuzhou where young workers, mostly women, are paid $1.20 a day to work 14-to-20-hour shifts in enforced silence making the beads showered onto revelers in New Orleans in exchange for baring their breasts at Mardi Gras. The Chinese factory owner, who sees himself as a good guy and model manager, boasts of the punishments he exacts in wages from the workers toiling in sweatshop conditions when they don't meet their quotas. In a nifty turnabout, the filmmaker asks the revelers if they know where the beads come from. They don't, of course, and even when told, few seem to care.
Along with the whole lead paint scare there are a myriad of political reasons why many people are boycotting products "Made in China."
If you are interested here are a some articles highlighting this important issue!
The Seattle Times: "Mom's Web site lists toys not made in China"
The Christian Science Monitor:"A year without 'Made in China'"I don't mean to be a bummer, but at his time of year I think it's important to think about how lucky we are. As the Christian Science Monitor article points out-it's pretty hard to avoid items made under the horrible conditions in China, but if we all try to cut down, maybe in some small way we can help these people.
FOOTNOTE: I think my 8 year old is getting REALLY suspicious about Santa. This afternoon she said, "What if I get toys from Santa that say "MADE IN CHINA?" That means they weren't made by elves." She paused, "unless they're Chinese elves!"
FOOTNOTE: I think my 8 year old is getting REALLY suspicious about Santa. This afternoon she said, "What if I get toys from Santa that say "MADE IN CHINA?" That means they weren't made by elves." She paused, "unless they're Chinese elves!"
