Face it. All of us are slaveowners.

[leftofthedial]

Every time we buy that Made In China doohickey or the sweatshop Nikes or the beer brewed by the union-busting brewery, we are buying just a little piece of a slave somewhere.

[niyad]

1. sorry, but some of us work hard to make certain we DON"T enable the sweatshops, or non-union shops,

etc., so kindly do NOT paint us all with that offensive label.

[ElizabethDC]

3. Unfortunately, you're in a very small minority

because it can be difficult to find goods that don't enable the sweatshops, etc.

[niyad]

6. sorry, disagree with you. most of my friends are very much the same way--we make SURE we don't buy

sweatshop goods, etc. it isn't THAT hard, one just has to care, and many people DO care. I have been doing this for over 40 years, so I can assure you, it isn't that hard.

[Fierce]

12. "One just has to care." Yup, exactly.

What's "hard" is that sometimes you can't buy that perfect pair of shoes or that cool jacket or that cute sweater or that toy for the kid. Things become a lot clearer, though, when you ask yourself, "Is it worth it for what I'm doing to someone else by buying this?"

[ElizabethDC]

14. But most people just don't care about the issue that much b/c they aren't educated about it

and a lot of times it can be more expensive to buy goods that are certified to have not been made in sweatshops, etc.

[Fierce]

21. Like what?

I don't often find that's true.

[ElizabethDC]

13. But it's far from being the norm

I don't know more than a handful of people who even give a thought to it - and those that do find it difficult to change their ways without spending loads of extra money, etc. As a college student who lives in a city and is without a car, I know that I and most of my friends (some of whom care passionately about this issue) are forced to buy whatever is most convenient.

Unfortunately, however, most people just aren't educated about the issue (I know I've really only come to be truly aware of it in the past couple of years), and those that do often can't be bothered.

[sweetheart]

33. but you pay taxes for the war effort

So you're pure and they forced you to support slavery.

[roody]

9. I don't know where to get shoes that my feet

can handle that are not made in China.

[Fierce]

22. Why? Are they big, or oddly shaped?

nt

[roody]

24. It has come down to only

negative heel Earth shoes let me be on my feet all day without hurting my feet. They are made in China.

[Fierce]

25. How annoying.

nt

[kestrel91316]

27. Yeah. People need to stop whining about their personal physical

PAIN and live their lives in a way I find morally acceptable.

[Fierce]

29. Um?

?

[kestrel91316]

31. I took your post #25 as a snarky, uncharitable response to #24.

[Fierce]

32. Nope.

I was saying it was annoying when someone wants to do the right thing and truly can't. Sometimes it happens.

[kestrel91316]

35. Gotta love the internet. Those tubes just garble up those subtle

cues as to intent. You may ignore my remark, lol. Sorry.

[Mr. Ected]

38. Try Finn Comforts, Made in Germany

The most comfortable shoes on the planet...negative heel earth shoes.

Trust me. They're a little expensive, but they last for years.

[roody]

40. Will definitely check it out.

[TahitiNut]

17. Well, while I do the same with diligence, I have to agree that we all share ...

... a responsibility (i.e. a duty) in a democratic nation to prohibit the importation and sale of goods that exploit child labor or sweatshop labor. It's not enough (imho, at least) to hold one's self separate, at arm's length, while such exploitation continues. In an indirect sense, even those of us who diligenty buy "union made" and "American made" goods are benefiting from the pricing that's suppressed due to the demand shift to cheaper goods.

While I'd not employ the hyperbole of the OP, I must admit that Evil, like money, is fungible.

[kestrel91316]

28. I don't want this crap imported, but when did anybody start caring

about how I felt about it?

I don't buy any more STUFF than I absolutely have to, regardless of source.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Yah that's the same thing. You gotta give credit to how hard white folks work...

... to minimize and dilute-in-a-smokescreen-of-semi-literate-analogies what was done by their ancestors to black folks.

[leftofthedial]

18. and how hard some folks work not reading

[pitohui]

4. i don't buy "doohickeys," nikes, or beer

so don't talk about "we" when you mean yourself

[leftofthedial]

19. the last of the self-sufficient rugged individualist survivalists!

who knew?

[cali]

20. I don't either.

I also use very little energy, buy most of my food at the coop, etc. Really, there are a lot more of us then you think. (Even if it is a tiny minority of Americans)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

37. You own a computer, don't you?

Do you own a Fair Trade computer?

[Fierce]

5. I don't buy that crap.

It's not hard to read labels and make the right choice.

[Jamastiene]

7. Funny, when my mother and my aunt worked in textiles

for way too little money for that amount of work, no one in America ever said anything like what you just said. But, because their jobs are now in China, all of a sudden it's called slavery. Oh well, I guess poor people in America are just worthless and deserve to be poor, huh?

[Quantess]

36. Textile factories that were once based in the USA,

from my understanding, the conditions were never as deplorable as what's going on in Chinese factories, and sweatshops in 3rd world countries. I'm sure your mother was underpaid and had to put up with lousy working conditions. No disrespect to your hard working mother, but I think some workers have it even worse.

[Hunky Dunky]

8. I make my own beer.

It's better than 99.99% of the swill out there. All malted barley, no corn or rice fillers. But, when I'm low, I support unions and buy a sixer made in the U.S.!

[quinnox]

10. Absurd!

I get tired of the "we all must feel guilty" meme on Du.

Guess what, those people have jobs in the other countries, a lot of them are lucky they have that, and consumption helps them have and keep their jobs. Some (hell, a lot of them) have no jobs and they live in deplorable conditions with no money. They would do anything to trade places and have the jobs those workers have thanks to the huge consumption appetite of the United States.

[Mick Knox]

16. So do I

I gotta survive.

Unless you live in a tree and hunt and grow your own food..

oh wait, we cant even hunt our own food, never mind.

[kestrel91316]

30. Meat is murder. Didn't you get the memo?

[PDJane]

11. Sigh.

My mother worked in textiles all her life; from the age of 13 to the age of 73. She never earned more than $10.00 per hour.

However, while that may be slavery of a sort, she did belong to a union, did have health care (Canadian, y'see), and did get the start of a real education, rather than just memorization. She is now 80 years old and is still reading.

I don't think that one can say that about the people who work in sweatshops in the developing world.

I'm getting, however, very, very aware of where things are made and how they are made. I often make my own clothing, I bake my own bread and pastries, and tend to be very aware of what goes into the food that sits on the supermarket shelf.

We do need a return to unionization and a more sustainable vision of development, with less "stuff".

[Buzz Clik]

15. Interesting.

Not a big fan of sweatshops, nor union busting. But slavery has a pretty clear definition, and these don't fit.

[Little Wing]

23. *groan* Going for the guilt vote again?

[La Coliniere]

26. Do goods made in China purchased in 2nd hand stores

like Amvets or Goodwill still carry with them the unethical baggage they would if they were purchased retail? Just wondering. If so, I'm probably guilty. Although I try to buy Made in USA goodswhen I purchase something new, I buy anything if it fits at the 2nd hand outlets.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

34. I just poured myself a cup of Fair Trade Coffee

Which is what we use in my house. You want Fair Trade products from abroad? They're available on the internet.

Just Google Fair Trade Products.

[Deja Q]

39. That means Steven Spielberg stole that painting too.

:sarcasm:

Besides, didn't Chinese officials recently say they pulled 400 million people out of poverty? That's 1/3rd their population and that's kinda cool when you consider poverty is a bad thing...

[BlackVelvet04]

41. Maybe you are, but I'm not. n/t

[The Gunslinger]

42. I never buy Nikes

Only New Balance...Made in America. I do hope that Budweiser is not union busting though....

[Fierce]

45. Not every NB is made in USA...

...you gotta check the label.

[seriousstan]

43. I sold mine and bought slave neutral credits. I'm clean.

[leftofthedial]

44. LOL

I love the way posters go all literal and shit

like all I meant was literally Nikes . . .

[cgrindley]

46. Nope

I don't wear shitty clothes. I don't drink shitty beer.