Are we stereotyping China as country of fake products?
Aug 19, 2007
asia.cnet.com
Someone once said that they will not dare eat anything from China ever again because almost all the food are fake or the ingredients are substitute with lower quality grades. But, they don't mind buying clothing or non-food products from China as you will not be consuming it. Unfortunately, China is starting to be stereotyped to be a country of fake products.
The latest reports from USA, has showed that non food products can also be a hazard if the quality of the products have been substitute. We all said that we don't mind wearing fake clothes or carry fake branded handbags made in China. But it has never occur to us that fake products might also contain dangerous chemicals. Example; paint, dyes and especially plastics.
For example the recent news of the major recall of some of the Mattel toys in the USA, which were made in China. They were found to contain high quantity of lead in the paint which is poisonous for young children who are exposed to them. And then yesterday, Toys 'R' Us in New York has also halt sales for a China made vinyl baby bibs at its stores in North America, which they tested and found to be contaminated with traces of lead.
This has now kept everyone on their toes as almost 80% of the products we used are made in China. I don't even doubt some of the branded fashion wear and accessories are made from China. As an online retailer myself, I sourced for manufacturers and products made in China, India, Indonesia and Philippines, as production is relatively much more cheaper there. Even fabrics and crafting materials I buy from stores in Singapore are imported from mostly China.
Recently I was looking at importing some fashion accessories from China which are mostly made of steel and enamel. But all these news are making me think twice about my decision.
So how about us blogger's most important assets? Our computer? Are they also made in China? I just had a look at the bottom of my Dell and was relieved that it's "Made in Malaysia". But heck, you won't even know if the parts like the keypads and touch pads are made in China. And the "Made in Malaysia" might just be "Assembled in Malaysia". Man, I would have been exposing myself unknowingly to dangerous chemicals, and soon, my fingertips might start turning hard and blue for no reason. Yikes.
I did a search in Yahoo! for "computer+parts made+in+china" and wasn't surprised by the number of sites it showed. As there are too many China sites and companies for me to list in this blog, I will just feature a well know B2B wholesale site which I always access for my wholesale needs.
* Globalsources.com: A well known B2B wholesale listing and media distribution company in China that helps major manufacturing businesses
in China reach out to global buyers and retailers. Listed up to 2000 computer parts which are made in China. Several of it's Platinum and Gold members claims to be manufacturers for these computer brand names - Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony, IBM, Ricoh, Epson, Canon,Philips and etc.
Anyway, I do hope that major international companies will start doing checks on ALL of their products which were once made or are currently made in China. Especially those who engage in?any China manufacturers. This is definitely a huge conspiracy which officials in China will need to start to buck up and investigate thoroughly, implement fines or arrest to teach the errant merchants. And especially as it is nearer to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Because if nothing is done soon to weed out the black sheeps causing all these chaos and deceits. You might not just be getting spectators during the Beijing 2008 Olympics, but protestants who protest against all products made in China from being exported.
But halting all exports from China will not benefit the economy for any country as it means supplies will exceed demands and other manufacturers from other countries will start raising prices and thus we as consumers will need to start folking out more money. And China's economy might spiral into a downfall. Therefore, lets fix the problems and teach the errant manufacturers and suppliers a lesson and nurture China's status as the number one manufacturing supplier back to its glory once again. |
