Books for Babies Made in China

Saskboy mirrors well what I've been thinking. It's astonishing to discover just how pervasive China-made goods are in our country, something I hadn't really thought about until the pet-food scandal.

I was in the bookstore the other day, looking at books for toddlers and babies. Reading the back cover of one, I noticed in little type the words "Made in China." Huh? I thought. Why is a book manufactured in China, especially one for kids at an age who have a habit of chewing everything in sight? Especially when we're learning more and more that goods for kids made in China seem to contain lead paint? I looked at another similar one, published by a different company. Same thing. Made in China. Didn't matter if the publisher was American, British, or Canadian, all their puffy books or cardboard-type books were made in China. If I wanted to buy a book printed here in North America, my only option was to buy a regular-type book, the kind toddlers generally aren't interested in looking at or playing with and must be read to the kid by an adult (or older kid). The fabric ones I couldn't ascertain where they were made. So what is a consumer to do?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Face facts, everything is made in China. If the label says "Made in Canada" then the product was most likely assembled in Canada from parts manufactured in China. It is impossible to purchase new products today that aren't in some way coming from China.
Yes, it seems such an insurmountable problem, what's the point of railing against it? And yet we are affected by it, not just our children's and pets' health, but our economy as well through lost manufacturing jobs. We have to do something, don't we?
Anonymous said…
I don't think we can do anything. I've got no hope or faith in our abilities to affect a change. The people of China have to do it for themselves and therefore, do it for us.
Charles Dickens is one of my favourite authors. He wrote about child labour and debtors prisons. His was one of the few voices raised against these injustices that seemed so entrenched and necessary in British society. But other voices joined his, and eventually they were abolished. The problem we have in this society is that we've forgotten that change doesn't always happen quickly, but it always happens with persistence over the long haul.

Do you watch Doctor Who? The show last night was, funnily enough, just on this theme. Do you give up against certain odds or persist?
You're absolutely right in one thing though: the people of China do have to act on their own behalf if they want things like a safe food supply. We can't do it for them. We can only protect ourselves.
Anonymous said…
Once I've watched TV program about how some Chinese toys can be harmful for our children. They told that some of toys were made from poor textile and filled with material where different insects can infest. I don't know for sure if this is true or not, but this alerts.
Tyson said…
If you didn't have toys, clothes, etc from China you probably would be able to afford those things. You can't afford things made by someone who is asking for at least $5.15 per hour! I can't, anyway.
I was thinking about that the other day when I had to choose between a cheap version made in China and a Canadian-made version. I went with Canadian because the cheap version I knew wouldn't last too long and would be a temporary thing, whereas the Canadian one I'll pretty much have for life. I couldn't afford the Canadian and will have to deal with the bill later, but I couldn't stomach the made-in-China one, wondering what was tagging along invisible to the naked eye and knowing I'd be hunting around for a new one in a year.

In my youth (my, I sound old), we didn't have a lot of toys or clothes, probably because they were relatively more expensive. Just because we've gotten used to cheap and plentiful to the point of ridiculous doesn't mean it's better. And when one is down and out, at least there's the Goodwill and second-hand stores.