Regular readers: this is a post submitted for Rocks In My Dryer’s Works for me Wednesday. I have been participating in that through my Mommy Blog for a couple of months now. I am going to begin participating on this site as well because I feel it is relevant for parents to learn more about the problem with Chinese manufactured goods in lieu of the recent recalls effecting children. Humor me, this post will be repeat for you.
—————————-
Works For Me Wednesday Crew:

I started this blog a week and 2 days ago after much prayer and examination. As I learned of more and more human rights abuses going on in China I continued to wonder why we as a country had so much dependency on them? Soon after this Recalls started pouring out of China… I was realizing that the countries moral fiber and disregard for human rights poured into their manufacturing. I realized how much sense that made. After all, character issues are rarely isolated. As as a country they have sown little respect for life, why wouldn’t’ that trickle into their desire for riches at all cost?

We are guilty too. As consumers, as companies, demand these prices in our greed to have more, in our greed for greater profit margins. China has been willing to stoop to all lows to get our demanded price, and we are content to remain ignorant of the situation over there because it is half a world away.

This site has been my response. My attempt to do something about it. Whether it effects one person or changes the world I felt compelled to do something about it. I prayed for it to go away, but it wouldn’t. You can read more about my journey on HERE.

Not everyone may feel led to ban or boycott China… But I am asking you to be aware, read labels, pay attention to just how much we as parents buy from China. It’s alarming.

Just to name a few recalls over the last months:

• Mattel and Fisher Price- 2 recalls, the latest including 19 million toys.
• Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway- lead paint.
• Tires- Mostly sold at walmart and Sam’s club… important core ingredient of tires responsible for holding the rubber together. This was left out to save money.
• Toothpaste- 2 different recalls.
• Pet food and Pet treats- Including poison and plastic.
• Children’s Clothing in NZ clothing huge amounts of lead.
• Baby Bibs @ toys are us containing 3 times allowable amount of lead. Doctors warn to throw them away right away.

Feel free to search my category “recall” for more information regarding these recalls.

These are just a SMALL sample of reasons we as parents need to at the VERY LEAST be aware and always shop for Made in China alternatives. I will constantly be building my links to Shopping China Free here and hope you will fee free to use them as a source to find alternative to Made In China Product.

If you are interested in keeping up to date with links and news of recall and living without China please go ahead and subscribe or bookmark my RSS feed. If you don’t use a reader or bookmarks Not China Made posts can be sent to your email by registering in the field of the upper left sidebar.

Thank you for your time!
Mommy Zabs

Live China Free posted a great link to an article on the Chinese Governments reaction to the world-wide outrage over their manufacturing failings- By Audra Ang- AP.

The programs are the latest in China’s recent push to prove both at home and abroad that it is taking strides to overcome its ongoing safety problems. But the frequent discoveries recently of potentially dangerous Chinese-made products have made that an uphill struggle.

Read full article HERE.

Also make sure to check out the Herrick Report on Live China Free as he discovers important news related to our problems with China.

I heard this on foxnews yesterday but just today got to googeling it. Add it to the list!!!

From the Chicago Tribune:

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS - Tests of two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart stores found traces of melamine, a chemical agent that led to a huge pet food recall in March, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Wal-Mart quietly stopped selling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading in July after customers said the products sickened their pets. A company spokeswoman said 17 sets of tests done on the products found melamine, an ingredient in plastics.

Wal-Mart has urged customers who bought the products to return them to the nearest store for a refund.

We really need to stop manufacturing in China- every week we know more of these things!

EDIT: ADDITIONAL NEWS REGARDING TREATS ON MSNBC.COM [hat tip: Jenn @ full of boys]

April also had some references for Lamps and School supplies, as I posted earlier some of you were looking for them.

1. Not sure what kind of lamps your readers are looking for, Electrix has a few lamps stated “Made in USA”
http://www.electrixtask.com/model_2015.htm
http://www.electrixtask.com/model_2225-z.htm
http://www.electrixtask.com/model_2245b.htm

2. Please double check by yourself. I was on the Walgreens.com and just did a search on “Made in USA” and went through all the results.
Crayola Crayons + Crayola Crayons with Built-In Sharpener
3M Post-It sticky notes

Scotch tapes
General Pencil - Made in USA
Paper Mate American Classic Woodcase Pencils HB No. 2 - Made in USA
Wausau Paper Exact Brights Filler Paper, 4 Colors, Wide Ruled - Made in USA
Elmer’s No-Wrinkle Rubber Cement - Made in USA

Fiskars SoftGrip Classic Scissors, No. 8 - Made in USA
Scotch Paper Cutter - Made in USA
Crafty Dab Window Writer Window Paint - Made in USA
Crayola Color Explosion Magic Sparkle Wand
Crayola Color Explosion Art Kit Rainbow
Crayola Color Explosion Rainbow Nick SpongeBob Squarepants

Crayola Color Wonder Fingerpaints & Outdoor Fun Coloring Book
Crayola Washable Poster & Craft Paint
Crayola Washable Kids Paint
Mattel Uno Card Game - Made in USA (hey, it’s a Mattel)
Faucet Queen 2-Sided & Divided Craft Organizer - Made in USA

Power Poxy Thumb Tack Reusable Putty - Made in USA

A lot of pens - Pilot Easy Touch Ball Point Pen, Bic Grip Roller Pen, Bic Ultra Grip Medium Round Stic Ball Pens, Pilot Easy Touch Ball Point Pen, Pilot Easy Touch Retractable Ball Point Pen, Bic Ultra Grip Medium Round Stic Ball Pens, Pilot Easy Touch Retractable Ball Point Pen Black, Pilot EasyTouch Ball Point Pens Black

3. Do some search on Google using keywords like abacus “Made in Japan” or “Made in Taiwan”
you may need to buy from eBay or

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/maidenmemories/item/ph1502

I posted on the No More Made In China to see if anyone had a recommendation for where to find safe sippy cups and Children’s Plates. Of course everything in my Kids’ drawer in the kitchen and all contain warnings about heat (nice I just noticed this!). Considering dangerous poisons that are sometimes put in these materials become worse for the baby with heat- I have been a little freaked out.

Aprilvy, who is one of the people helping to build No More Made In China, Replied with the following information.

I went to the Whole Foods Market this evening and found the BornFree training cup. It is made in Israel. BornFree™ feeding products are made from Bisphenol-A free plastic. Most other major baby bottle manufacturers still use Bisphenol-A in their production.

There is an interesting article about sippy cups - The SIGG bottles look pretty cool and they are made in Switzerland.

Avent Naturally Magic Super Sport, 12 oz - Assorted - Made in England
Playtex Cups & Mealtime The Insulator Spill-Proof Cup - Made in USA
Playtex The Insulator Sport Straw Cup, 9 oz/266 ml - Assorted - Made in USA
For dinnerware, I really like the CORELLE - very durable and Made in USA. It is made by the same Corning, New York factory that has made every piece since the line was launched in 1970. Note: The CORELLE brand is no longer part of Corning, Inc. and is now owned and operated under the World Kitchen, Inc.

Great information and links April!

EXCELLENT quote from an email I recieved through Not China Made. Coming from Kent Herrick who writes the Live China Free site.

I’m glad I saw your site …. people say … but there is not place but China and I say move all the factories from China to Mexico and our immigration problem will disappear.

What an interesting thought! How much easier it would be to check up on them!

I’m adding a new section to my sidebar called “Labeled Internet Shopping”. These are stores that label the place of origin on each product of their site. This is something that needs to be encouraged on the web. Its frustrating to be a web-prone person and realize shopping is difficult when you want to limit what countries you buy products from.