Made in USA
Made in USA is a phrase that has taken on new meaning over the past several months. With recalls in food, toys, makeup, etc., many of us have been having second and third thoughts about purchasing items that are made in China. Not too long ago there was a news story of a family that went a whole year without buying anything made in China. Their book, A Year Without "Made In China": One Family's True Life Adventure in Global Economy (by Sara Bongiorni; ISBN: 0470116137) sounded like it would be an interesting read.
So lately I have been checking the labels of items I want to buy just to see where they are made, mostly out of curiosity to begin with, but now with more concern. For several months I tried to find bath towels that were made in the USA and fit my budget, two seemingly disparate criteria. Finally I found some at Sam's Club, of all places! And just yesterday I was looking at potato mashers at Publix. They had three different brands, all made in China. Now a potato masher is probably not going to have lead paint on it and likely is pretty safe to buy, no matter where it is made. But still! Is there anything still manufactured in America?
With all that in mind, I have been thinking ahead to Christmas and what I might want to get for Miss Munchkin. She recently discovered baby dolls, but a trip to Toys R Us a couple of weeks ago was not real fruitful in that department. So I spent part of this afternoon looking for dolls made in the good ole USA. And actually found a couple. And some others that were made in Europe. Research indicates that the EU (European Union) has more stringent quality controls that the US, so likely any toy made in the EU is going to be as safe, if not safer, than any toy made here. That's good to know.
I liked the Corolle dolls found at Kazoo Toys. Their website indicates the dolls are "designed in France" but does that mean they are made in France? I guess I will have to contact them to be sure.
The Kinder dolls at www.usmadetoys.com are cute.
Nico & Zoe has some cute cloth dolls.
If you are looking for toys made in America, or at least not made in China, here's a couple of websites that will be very helpful:
10 Lead-Free Toys Made in USA.
Toys Made in America -- Extensive list of American toy companies, brands and products.
I am definitely looking for a baby doll suitable for an almost two-year-old little girl this Christmas, so if you know where I can find one that is not made in China, leave me a comment! Thanks!
Labels: books, Christmas, Miss Munchkin
posted by Karen M. Gibson @ 4:25 PM
9 Comments
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9 Comments:
We are trying to do the same thing here! A woman in our hs group is fanatical about not buying Chinese(for more than just safety concerns). Watch your veggies too, another of our hs moms found that some vegetables are imported from China as well!!! Ick! I'm not sure the country of origin is listed at the place I shop. Organic veggies will probably be out of my price range(feeding 5 here) but I'm going to try it and see.
Made in USA dolls
http://www.kibaki.net/shop/results/toys/n/166162011/?q=usa
http://www.chrismillerdolls.com/
See the discussion on NoMoreMadeinChina.com
http://www.nomoremadeinchina.com/forum/topic/show?id=933403%3ATopic%3A1844
Terrific topic! Thanks for sharing.
I'm on the same quest. FYI--Corolle dolls say on the box "Designed in France--Made in China." I saw some at a specialty toy store the other day. Very disappointing! And that goes for all of the sizes/types of baby dolls made by Corolle. :(
I am so excited to see other women with the same goal. I am making an effort for a Made in China free Christmas for all presents I am purchasing for my daughter and all relatives.
I actually work in manufacturing in the US (nothing to do with toys unfortunately, so I can absolutely say this country still has the skills and knowledge to manufacture whatever consumer good are desired. I just struggle to comprehend how Wal-mart, Target, etc. keep getting away with selling toxic toys. I am thoroughly disgusted.
Proudly American! is more than a statement of national pride, it is a reassurance that companies and their products carrying the Proudly American symbol are of high quality, are socially responsible and are supporting the local economy.
http://proudlyamerican.org
FAO Schwarz has one made in Spain:
http://www.fao.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=10911&categoryId=142&parentCategoryId=93
There are some Corolle dolls that aren't made in China:
http://www.notoysmadeinchina.com/corolle/index.html
My wife, Alesia Newman-Breen, makes beautiful handmade one-of-a-kind dolls right here in America (Cockeysville, Maryland). You can check out her amazing creations on our website, www.newbreen.com . You can call us at 410-683-1562 or email us at newbreen@comcast.net . Thanks, Jerry Breen
Besides wanting to protect OUR children and ourselves from unsafe materials and products, let us consider the people, many of them children, who are making these products. The conditions under which the workers in China and other countries live enable the owners to export their 'goods' cheaply so we can get 'more for our money' as some American retailers advertise.
Let us reclaim our positon in the world and truly support one another! Think of the opportunities for us Americans as we 'grow' engineers and artisans and crafts people and shop owners if we demand and support 'MADE IN THE USA' materials and products. If the items are made well and priced reasonably, poople will buy! And if we purchase items made in another country, let us be certain that besides being made well, the persons who made them have been paid fair wages and are working under humane coditions. It won't happen overnight and we won't be able to purchase as much as we do today, but if we all work at it, we can turn this nightmare around.
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