"Made in China" an omnipresent label
Book review that I wrote in 2007, as the subject still holds interest wanted to copy paste it here. Edited version of this appeared in the Hindustan Times
Title: A Year Without "Made in China"
Author: Sara Bongiorni
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey
M C Vaijayanthi
From Christmas decorations to Easter eggs and Halloween pumpkins, just
about everything in the daily American life is ruled by Chinese
products. In fact this Diwali, one heard a comment about how except
for traditional Indian sweets it is a Chinese Diwali – our shopping
bags would have been filled with crackers, kandeels to cloths from
China.
With a large small scale industry though fast losing out in the cost
and efficiency game still gives Indian the options to live with home
made goods. But the world's largest economy, the United States has no
such option. It is reeling under a huge trade deficit with China and
struggling to tame the roaring dragon. The real story is not
understood from the macro economic statistics that says the US has
over 29 per cent trade deficit with China. It lies in the micro story
of how it is impossible to live in the US without Chinese goods.
American journalist Sara Bongiorni, decided that she and her family
would spend the year 2005 without the Made in China products. "China
needed consumers like us to fire its economy, but did we need China,
too?" was what she wanted to find out.
The options before her were ridiculous. To let her four year old son
cringe his foot into his shoes till the time she found a new pair not
made in China. Pushing her husband to the ridiculous act of stealing a
four old kid's sun glasses from the play school as he gets desperate
to protect his eyes from blazing sun. The options before the American
customer plays our dramatically before our eyes from the pages of
Bongiorni's book. She could chose between a $ 9 dollar a pair of shoes
made in China and $ 65 pair made in Germany. From $1 sunglasses from
China to $150 made in Italy sunglasses.
There is a lesson for Indian manufactures from this line in the book.
"Nobody had made children's sneakers in the States since the 1960s,
and they had all gone to China since then." And there is a lot to
learn from the book for all those against multinational retail giants.
Wal-Mart in US today is synonymous with cheap Chinese goods may be a
well known fact, but the author here goes on a special hunt to make
sure what she believes is right.
It is a tale well told with gracious approach to a country that
America has come to hate. The conclusion is China goods have become a
global habit. It is impossible to live without them. It was a joyous
new year for the Bongiorni family when they end a one year boycott of
"Made in China". Practical sense prevails over Bongiorni when she
concludes - "The idea of swearing off Chinese products forever feels
like holding a perpetual grudge against 1.3 billion people. I 'm not
sure I have the energy for that."
Title: A Year Without "Made in China"
Author: Sara Bongiorni
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey
M C Vaijayanthi
From Christmas decorations to Easter eggs and Halloween pumpkins, just
about everything in the daily American life is ruled by Chinese
products. In fact this Diwali, one heard a comment about how except
for traditional Indian sweets it is a Chinese Diwali – our shopping
bags would have been filled with crackers, kandeels to cloths from
China.
With a large small scale industry though fast losing out in the cost
and efficiency game still gives Indian the options to live with home
made goods. But the world's largest economy, the United States has no
such option. It is reeling under a huge trade deficit with China and
struggling to tame the roaring dragon. The real story is not
understood from the macro economic statistics that says the US has
over 29 per cent trade deficit with China. It lies in the micro story
of how it is impossible to live in the US without Chinese goods.
American journalist Sara Bongiorni, decided that she and her family
would spend the year 2005 without the Made in China products. "China
needed consumers like us to fire its economy, but did we need China,
too?" was what she wanted to find out.
The options before her were ridiculous. To let her four year old son
cringe his foot into his shoes till the time she found a new pair not
made in China. Pushing her husband to the ridiculous act of stealing a
four old kid's sun glasses from the play school as he gets desperate
to protect his eyes from blazing sun. The options before the American
customer plays our dramatically before our eyes from the pages of
Bongiorni's book. She could chose between a $ 9 dollar a pair of shoes
made in China and $ 65 pair made in Germany. From $1 sunglasses from
China to $150 made in Italy sunglasses.
There is a lesson for Indian manufactures from this line in the book.
"Nobody had made children's sneakers in the States since the 1960s,
and they had all gone to China since then." And there is a lot to
learn from the book for all those against multinational retail giants.
Wal-Mart in US today is synonymous with cheap Chinese goods may be a
well known fact, but the author here goes on a special hunt to make
sure what she believes is right.
It is a tale well told with gracious approach to a country that
America has come to hate. The conclusion is China goods have become a
global habit. It is impossible to live without them. It was a joyous
new year for the Bongiorni family when they end a one year boycott of
"Made in China". Practical sense prevails over Bongiorni when she
concludes - "The idea of swearing off Chinese products forever feels
like holding a perpetual grudge against 1.3 billion people. I 'm not
sure I have the energy for that."
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