Friday, December 11, 2009
Made in the USA
We've decided to try to avoid Chinese made products in our house. At first, I thought it would be fairly easy - right? There would be products everywhere, just maybe more expensive? Probably better quality? Um... no. And not only that, but shopping online at places like Amazon has become a HUGE task - I can't just type in "baby spoons" I have to search for baby spoons through google to find ones made outside of China (and preferably India, too), then find them on Amazon. I've searched both Wal-Mart and Target's baby aisles and found ONLY products made in China (seriously, the entire aisle of baby teethers and toys, all made in China). And then it makes me wonder, once Gray is a big boy and sees toys in the store, am I really going to tell him no because it's made in China? Maybe that will make a good excuse to keep his toy haul to a minimum, but seriously, the kid will never be able to get a surprise toy while we're out shopping. Anyhow, if anyone is looking or wondering, we ended up getting Baby Bjorn spoons, bowls, etc. They are made in Sweden. And we got Fresh Baby so easy food trays (for freezing his homemade baby food) which are BPA free and actually made in the USA - holy cow. They also have a nice little snap on cover for the trays so that the food won't get freezer burned.
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All of the toys are made in China. ALL OF THEM. I make myself feel better by trying just to limit the China stuff to me and my husband.
ReplyDeleteCan you please explain why? Why are Sweden's products that much better than China? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWell I wouldn't necessarily say Sweden is better than China... but I do know Baby Bjorn products are BPA and Phalate free. Products made in China take a lot of toll on the environment in travel and are, as a whole (but not always individually, manufacturers can be responsible about their products)not baby-safe. Almost every single recall in the past year has been things made in China. China doesn't have the environmental regulations that other countries have, so they might paint toys with lead paint, or use plastics that have been deemed unsafe because of known carcinogens or include small parts that can be choked on, or crappy plastic that breaks easily. I've found in the products we have in our house, the stuff made in CHina is crappy quality, easily breakable and usually dangerous (like the baby "walker" that someone gave Gray as a gift - he has knocked it over on himself or fallen over playing with it every time he's gone near it). Anyhow, there are some products made in China that are actually good, quality products (like Nuby and gro-baby) but I've tried to stick to my guns and not buy stuff made in China. One other rant on China - environmentally they have zero regulations on things like air pollution and carbon sequestration, so by not supporting things made there (even when they are quality products) I feel like I'm making a stand on that. And the crazy conspiracy theorist in me feels like Americans are owned by China anymore and we could barely survive without them ... so what happens when they cut us off?
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