I bought clerks at Target the other day. The plastic wrap had a stamped impression citing that the dvd was made in Mexico.

That made me think about all the stuff that I own, was given, or use on a daily basis. I wanted to know here all my things were made from.

The grand majority of my clothes, dvd’s, computer parts, games, are from foreign countries. The biggest of course being China.

Could it be possible to not buy things made from China?

I wondered about all this and while online found a book that seems very relevant to this idea….it’s called “A Year Without Made In China” by Sara Bongiorni.

Why didn’t I think of this?

That was my first thought, but then I sat down and realized that I was trying to force this for a long time now. I don’t like child slavery, I don’t like sweatshops, and I don’t like how Dickies used to be made in America with high quality materials, and are now made in one of many Central American factories, making a poor pair of pants for me to wear.

I hate these pants now, and have been wearing the same pair of Dickies since high school.

So what now?

I’m not really sure, I know that I’m in a corner, and my conscious is hard to fight.

I haven’t read this book, but it’s on top of my “to read list” now, right after “My Boring Ass Life” by Kevin Smith…funny how entertainment is #1 on my list of reading, rather than something on economical issues.

I’m such an American….sometimes I dislike that notion. (just the way I play the consumer card)

Amazon.com had this to say on their website:

Journalist Bongiorni, on a post-Christmas day mired deep in plastic toys and electronics equipment, makes up her mind to live for a year without buying any products made in China, a decision spurred less by notions of idealism or fair trade-though she does note troubling statistics on job loss and trade deficits-than simply “to see if it can be done.” In this more personal vein, Bongiorni tells often funny, occasionally humiliating stories centering around her difficulty procuring sneakers, sunglasses, DVD players and toys for two young children and a skeptical husband. With little insight into global economics or China’s manufacturing practices, readers may question the point of singling out China when cheap, sweatshop-produced products from other countries are fair game (though Bongiorni cheerfully admits the flaws in her project, she doesn’t consider fixing them). Still, Bongiorni is a graceful, self-deprecating writer, and her comic adventures in self-imposed inconvenience cast an interesting sideways glance at the personal effects of globalism, even if it doesn’t easily connect to the bigger picture.

The book is roughly $17 and you can pick it up here. I suggest reading it. It looks like something that we can all consider, in light of recent events. Once again the book is called “A Year Without Made in China” it’s available now, and it looks really good.