We’re all gonna die! But is it on sale?

September 29th, 2007

In case you haven’t heard, there was yet another recall the other day, again for toys. Lots of people are freaking out about this, of course. Not that they seem to have stopped buying the items or shopping at the stores that carry them. But still, there are lots of people out there who apparently think China is trying to kill us.

The thing is, while there should be cause for concern, the sheer amount of products available in the United States that are not made in the United States is staggering. As I write this, my shirt was made in El Salvador, my pants in Cambodia, and my underwear in Israel. Based on sheer statistics we were due for some sort of massive implosion when it comes to our imported goods.

It’s one reason I hate the mass-market mindset of the country. Sure, I love being able to go a store or restaurant and finding the same thing I would halfway across the country. But at the same time, I much prefer seeking out the local places, ones with their own style and flavor. But this is proving harder and harder to do - and more expensive, because as more people visit the chains less are visiting boutiques, which drives the price up. Which sends the whole thing circling around again, considering most Americans live beyond their means and and practically forced to shop at the big box stores in the end.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we have to be spending our money on Dora the Explorer or Thomas the Tank Engine toys for our more-than-likely spoiled children. I hesitate to pull the “In my day” card, but it really comes in handy every so often. Sure I had a few My Little Ponies, but I didn’t have Popples or Pillow Friends or Glo-worms or a thousand other toys. We didn’t even have a Nintendo until I was a teenager, and that was because my mom wanted one, and by that point the system and games were cheap.*

I did have a bike, and a neighborhood with enough kids to make a game of kickball or (at night) ghosts in the graveyard. So maybe that’s the difference - no one wants to play outside anymore. So we have to turn to our TV friends for play, and to keep up with demand while making a few billion dollars, America turns to outsourcing labor.

I’m hoping to get my hands on this book be able to look at the issue more critically. The whole mass-market globalization annoys me - I did not need to see The Gap and Starbucks on the street corners of Paris.

I wonder what would happen if just once, everyone participated in Buy Nothing Day.

* We did have a Sega Genesis, but my brother bought it with his own money.

Entry Filed under: Culture