The Case For (Truly) Accurate Labels

Does "Made in China" (or anywhere else for that matter) tell you the whole story? Why not require production labels on products sold here?

Food labels tell us about what we eat, but what about the ingredients in other products? One thing they all require is electricity. In China, they build 2 coal-fired power plants every week to satisfy demand. Coal is dirty for the people who live near the plant, and contributes to global warming.

Furthermore, countries with extra cheap labor often don't have the civil rights we enjoy. Regardless of your opinion on unions, it's hard to argue they don't have a right to exist, or that you could be executed for saying so.

One reason "Made in China" equals "dirt cheap" is because of the dirty conditions where those products are made.

If product labels informed you that your purchase was made possible by dirty power, toxic materials, or human rights violations, you might spend more on products made with clean energy, non-toxic materials and respect for peoples' dignity.

Producers would compete by improving their practices. In the meantime, it would support economies trying to get some return on environmental regulations, workers' rights, and clean energy.

When consumers can choose between clean energy with democracy, or dirty energy with oppression, bad guys will be LESS profitable.

Divesting from South Africa helped change that nation, but we can't vote with our dollars unless we label the products for sale in our country with real information about how they got here.

Comments

[Checquoline]

I buy nothing from China if I can help it. NOTHING. They killed two of my cats. One from bad cat food and the other chewed a piece of plastic wrapping that was so toxic that he died even after he passed the plastic. He was in the hospital three days on IVs. I wish they had all their plastic shit back.

[grammology]

I think China has intentionally been poisoning us with lead in every product they send us. And I wonder if it is intentional? Think of all the health damage lead can do to us and they never had to fire a shot; How long will it take for us to get it...

Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
grammology.com

[hypnotoad72]

Intentional? Maybe, maybe not. For reasons of a 'cold war', maybe not. Given their own attitudes and actions toward their own people, the impression is that they don't care about anything. :(

[Jonahson]

sorry typo error should read:- ........his friend supplied leaded paint to him.

[Jonahson]

How the story went:- A toy manufacturer in China secured an order from a well known toy brand maker from the US and the deal was strictly no lead paint be used. The chinese manufacturer do not produce paint so he got an entreprenuer friend and trusted him to supply lead free paint to him. Unfortunately it wasn't the case as his friend supplied lead free paint. When lead was discovered on the toys, the products were recalled and the manufacturer suffered losses. He later committed suicide.
When it comes to doing bussiness in China beware of unscruplous entrepreneurs. Bussinessmen from other parts of Asia faced such problems also especially setting up bussiness or factories there. I believe there is no concerted effort to harm the US citizens or citizens from other countries. China has all of a sudden taken a huge quatum jump in their manufacturing and exports bussiness in the last ten years. It cannot cope with the system of checks and standards needed to maintain quality which allowed greedy and ignorant bussisness men to take advantage of the situation. They are not only killing their own people as witnessed by the collaspe of school buildings due to shoddy workmanship but also destroying their own enviroment.

[drec1500Madrid]

I live in Spain and it is required that supermarkets indicate the variety and origin of produce.

I was going to buy some garlic when I noticed it was from China...garlic, in Spain, from China...unbelievable. Of course I put it back and bought some that was local.

This was Carrefour by the way.

[rini]

Unfortunately, powerful interests do NOT want us to know the facts about what we buy.

It's gonna be a battle.