“It is estimated that there are about 500 million children in China. Every day at school and college they are taught that God does not exist and that to believe in Jesus is superstitious and unpatriotic. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to be taught from the Bible or encouraged to put their faith in God. It is also illegal to print any Christian literature for children.” From Open Doors

It’s been over a month now since I began my quest and I am proud to report that I have bought not one thing from China, except for a candle from White Barn Candle Co. for a friend’s birthday that apparently had its metal top “Assembled in China”. I only discovered my mistake in the very fine print as I was wrapping it and didn’t feel that a candle mainly made in the U.S.A ought to be taken back considering the birthday is very soon. Next time I will know. My life has not been affected as much as I thought it would be except in the area of purchasing clothing and with that I have not bought any clothes since before Christmas (and for now, I think that is a good thing).

I’ve been thinking a lot about children in China and about missions, particularly Christian missions, in the country. My impression had always been that China, as a nationally atheist country (deemed so by the Communist Party), just frowned up religion but took little action against it. It was not until I was in High School and heard a moving story at a conference about people who smuggle Bibles in to China or work as a part of underground missions did I realize the potential danger that surrounded various churches.

In the 1970’s the Chinese government loosened restrictions on religious groups within the country under the condition that they be registered with the state and also, follow all rules imposed upon them. There are three major groups: Three-Self Patriotic Movement, China Christian Council (Protestant) and Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (which disavowed the Pope). But, the fastest growing movement are unregistered house churches where Christians meet at “underground” services in order to have freedom to worship without restriction but also face arrest, interrogation, loss of property etc. if they are discovered. Time Magazine has a great article here

Also, in gearing up for the 2008 Olympics, government officials having been expelling missionaries left in right:

“This is the largest expulsion of foreign missionaries since 1954 when the Chinese Communist government expelled all foreign religious workers after taking power in 1949,” reported a VOM source. “At least five different mission agencies and sources within the Chinese government report that in February 2007, the government launched a massive expulsion campaign against foreign Christians.”

“In spite of the public face of religious freedom the Chinese government tries to convey through its state run system, the arrests of Chinese Christians, and now the expulsion of active Christian visitors is a demonstration of their true nature,” said Tom White, executive director for Voice of the Martyrs.

The government’s effort, however, is facing an uphill battle, because of estimates, reported by WordNetDaily, that 3,000 people are being added daily to the Christian church in China, mostly the house-churches that do not register with the government and therefore are considered part of those “evil cult activities.”

Last week’s reports raised concern over the house-church pastors who had been arrested, and now are facing possible sentences to China’s famous “re-education” camps, and about the half dozen house-church leaders who were arrested in one city. They are facing fines of about $1,500.

Read the full story here

It makes my heart heavy to think of the persecution that exists in the world, especially in China.

Until next time . . .

Kate

It’s officially three days into the New Year and so far my life hasn’t been “interrupted” too badly. It appears that my wants for useless junk have significantly dwindled since becoming a ridiculously conscious consumer.

Example: I have a relatively minor obsession with the ever adorable Hello Kitty. My fiance has been less than thrilled with my desire for all things Kitty, but I’ve been happily indulged by friends and family for years (him too, I love my HK contact case). However this minor consumptive habit has never extended beyond notebook paper, band-aids (yes, I will proudly wear hot pink boo-boo hiders to my place of work), the occasional pillow or lamp, etc. However, I have been wishing after a HK toaster or toaster oven, in slight secret, after my black&decker lost it’s ability to perform a “timed toast”, which means i have to pump it up to 400F every time I need toast . . . and then stare it to ensure it never becomes charred or that my apartment doesn’t suddenly catch on fire. So, I am at Target buying body wash and there I see it— GLOWING on the clearance shelf: A HELLO KITTY TOASTER OVEN! Ahhhh!!!! I almost tripped in my excitement. The dials are pink and it has even more functions than the B&D. Plus, HK’s face is cutely plastered on the sides. AH! She’s just begging me to come toast bread and pizza rolls. “Kate, we would be such great friends! I know how much you love covering deliciously toasted honey wheat bread with butter and cinnamon!” And what else is there, eeks, a HK regular toaster that puts her face on the sides of bread, bagels or other delicious carb cakes. Not to mention the alarm clocks, hair dryers, 8 glass personal water dispenser…! My eyes were probably glazing over as I stared at the loot before me, clutching a massive container of Olay body wash.

Deep breath, I pick up the toaster oven and turn it to the side. Duh, “Made in China”. Hair Dryer, “Made in China”. I put the items back on the shelf, step back, turn around, and walk away. Woah, where did my self control come from? This is AMAZING. I know that my fiance breathed a sigh of relief when I told him of the feat later . . .mainly because the last thing he wants is Hello Kitty staring up at him everyday from his plate starting in June.

So I may add to my list of barred things– all items Hello Kitty, as I looked through everything that I owned of the HK variety and to my chagrin all displayed “Made in China”.

No more Burberry either. It appears that only scarves and trenches will remain made in England. So many memories too. My first grownup purse was Burberry (sadly out of commission now). I’m glad that I purchased my little, quilted jacket two years ago when the price was worth the artisan quality of “Made in England”. More and more “Luxury Brands” are moving the bulk of their production to mainland China and attempting to scheme up ways to avoid the “Made in China” tags while taking advantage of cheap labor.
Read about it here. And Another.

Next time, a more serious post about the repression of religion in China.

Best,

Kate

Merry Christmas!  It was truly a wonderful day filled with celebration, good tidings, family, tasty treats, and remembrance for the season’s true meaning.  I hope the day was filled with magic and meaning for everyone.

Best Wishes,

Kate

The “Made in China” tags tucked inside so much of my clothing never used to phase me because they hung next to all of my other pieces that said “Made in Jordan”, “Made in India”, “Made in Indonesia”, and the occasional, but definitely there, “Made in the U.S.A”.  If I could and would be completely pure about everything that I buy I would probably end up walking around naked (which no one wants).  However out of all of the “Made in” items, I feel that China is the worse violator of human rights (just look at Tibet, many thanks to my little Valerie for raising my awareness on Tibet, and also treatment of religious groups) and has by far some of the most extreme working environments.  In future posts I plan to detail new info about such acts and more in-depth background as supporting evidence.  At the moment I just need to lay my foundation.

I took an inventory of all of my clothing to see how deep I am entangled and if my favorite brands are about to be blacklisted and iced out of my life, yikes!  To my absolute horror all three of my favorite brands are made almost completely in China: Lilly Pulitzer, J. Crew, and Vineyard Vines.  Ugh!  Can it be that my most expensive clothing is championing the cheapest labor and considerably the most offensive? Yes.  It is at this point that I decide that there is no way my boycott can be retroactive because doing so would mean that I would basically need to buy a whole new wardrobe, get rid of my new mac computer, and all of the furniture that my roommate bought for our apartment (Target, like Walmart is a China made heaven!).  The funniest part is that all of my favorite pieces of clothing were ironically made in China: the pink winter coat, my green Vineyard Vines sweater, the yellow Lilly dress, the jade green Banana Republic skirt, and yes, my argyle sweater collection from J. Crew.  Sigh.  But, my conviction will prevail over my taste in fashion.

Excluding my household goods, here’s the damage of the wardrobe (items made in Hong Kong and China, because HK is technically China again . . .):

• 2 suit coats (Kenneth Cole, Express)
• 1 dress shirt (Alfani)
• 3 fancy tops (Express, White House Black Market)
•  my winter coat (Express)
• 4 dresses (Lilly Pulitzer, J. Crew)
• 6 skirts (Lilly Pulitzer, Express, J. Crew, Banana Republic)
• 4 cotton tops (J. Crew)
• 13 sweaters (J. Crew, Gap, Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines)
• 5 pairs of shorts/capris (J. Crew)

It definitely looks as though I will be saving a lot of money in the future on clothing. My other disappointment was to learn that my small, Vera Bradley, duffle and wallet were made in China. Further examination of another large duffle, tote, and cosmetic bag revealed that these three items were made in the U.S.A, yippy! At first I considered that the older items were crafted in the US but then the purchasing timeline revealed that it was just perhaps a split in production. Also, recently I bought several more VB items as gifts and all of these came from the U.S.A. I have mixed feelings about the company now (along with many others) and will need to do more research before I decide to acquire any more pieces . . . whether they’re made in the U.S.A or not.

Oh, it is going to be an interesting journey!

Hello. I’m Kate and this is my stand against China.

This weblog will be a detailed account of my daily journey (struggle) to shut the influence of Chinese made goods out of my life over 2008 and hopefully, beyond.

Inspiration and motivation for this personal boycott have stemmed from various influences and is by no means an original idea (although, I am glad it is not). When I first heard about Sara Bongiorni’s book, A Year without “Made in China”, my interest to pursue the same course of action was peaked and I thought, “maybe, I can do it too?”. My reasoning mainly includes my absolute disgust at how the Chinese government (etc.) displays complete disrespect for human life, suppresses the innate rights of its citizens, condemns Christianity and denies missions access, destroys the environment, and has a lax attitude in regard to safety/quality standards in its goods.  This is by no means a xenophobic or purely protectionist reaction on my part (as I’m a global economy, free market proponent), but based on my right/ability to choose against goods produced by state-owned enterprises and other corporations in conditions that don’t reflect my value set.  Ideally if enough individuals did this, we as stakeholders in the economy (consumers), would have enough sway to begin movement in a more positive direction.

Who is Kate? I am a twenty-two year old, financial analyst, living in the Midwest who has a passion for life, finance, capitalism, conservative thought, enjoys studying Japanese, reading non-fiction, scrap-booking, traveling, and dining. I believe in personal responsibility, that government should give a hand up (not a hand out), and that change begins within one.  I am avid in my stand against communism, laziness, helplessness, and ignorance.