Recent article in The New York Times paints an attractive picture of up and coming Valencia Street in SF's Mission District. The good news? An effective push for local merchants selling locally-made goods. Check it out!
www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28sfmission/html
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
False Flag Ads
Some earliest retail memories revolve around JC Penney. Local stores, local employees who knew their merchandise and their customers, fair prices, decent quality. Underwear, sheets, towels, back-to-school clothes. Enjoyed, depended upon--but, alas, taken for granted. I have studied their catalogs for the last year and found, on average, one or two products made in America. Local store closed 5 years ago and I would gladly drive 20-30 miles to the nearest one. Now? No way.
Just saw in a currrent magazine an ad for JC Penney with the following text:
"Made for Work.
Made for Play.
Made for Everyday.
Made for Today.
Made for My Life.
Made For American Living."
Oops, they forgot one crucial line: "Not Made in America."
To cleanse the consumer palate, here is my first "indigenous" suggestion:
Modern, clean, "fashion forward" sweaters, tees, jackets. Made in San Francisco and Marin Co., CA. Reasonable prices. Local artisans.
Nicecollective.com
2544 Third St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
1-415-695-0323
Just saw in a currrent magazine an ad for JC Penney with the following text:
"Made for Work.
Made for Play.
Made for Everyday.
Made for Today.
Made for My Life.
Made For American Living."
Oops, they forgot one crucial line: "Not Made in America."
To cleanse the consumer palate, here is my first "indigenous" suggestion:
Modern, clean, "fashion forward" sweaters, tees, jackets. Made in San Francisco and Marin Co., CA. Reasonable prices. Local artisans.
Nicecollective.com
2544 Third St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
1-415-695-0323
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Created in America
As I watch the increasingly irrational parade that is the Tea Party Movement, with their fixation on "patriotism", I wonder how they have managed to miss one of the greatest threats to this country, its economy, and sense of well-being. I speak of the death throes of our once solid, productive, and financially vibrant manufacturing base. And the hemorrhaging of the good jobs that base once provided.
Wouldn't a true patriot be worried about that?
For years I have tried to buy American. Not out of any xenophobia or America-first hubris, but because of a growing frustration at the flood of imports drowning what is left of American industry. Sometimes I wonder: do we actually make anything in this country anymore except fancy financial derivatives and sub-prime mortgages? Anything that doesn't end up making a Wall Street few rich?
It has become nearly impossible to find even common household items: clothes, tools, bedding, towels, sheets, toys, kitchen utensils--you name it--not made in China or India or El Salvador or. . . someplace offshore. So I long ago became a dedicated "tag-checker" as I shop. The phrases "Made in USA" or "Made in America" are rare sightings.
I happened to read Naomi Klein's No Logo recently. It is a powerful and scary expose not only of America's crumbling manufacturing base, but also of the almost exponential growth of manufacturing outsourcing to developing countries, manufacturing geared to one thing and one thing only: profit. Not fair wages; not fair labor practices; not worker health and safety; not environmental protection--and not quality products. Instead: profit for the very few.
Many of the most famous brand names, names on consumer items many of us already own, are involved in this race to the bottom: Nike, JC Penney, Sears, Ralph Lauren, Mattel, L.L. Bean, Ann Taylor, The Gap. . .
Look at almost any retailer, really look. And you'll see the "imported" label on nearly all, if not all of their products. Even the high-priced ones.
Shopping for things is not our whole reason for being, of course. But we all need to be consumers from time to time. No escape from that! We want certain things and we want to pay as little as possible. It's human nature.
But sometimes a "bargain" is really a pact with the devil. Did a child make this towel? What is the hourly wage of the worker who made this blouse? Is the factory where these shoes originated a safe environment in which to work? What environmental damage resulted from the the creation of this furniture? I have decided to radically reassess what, how, when I buy anything. I want to know more of the true story of its manufacture. And I am willing to pay a higher price if necessary, for a more honest and domestic product.
In future posts I hope to share the names of companies and individuals who, IMO, are making a quality product, at a fair (if not cheap) price, under safe labor and environmental conditions, and in this country. I invite you to share your thoughts on "made in America", as well as your own "made in America" discoveries and recommendations.
Two final points for now. 1) I realize that simply because a product is made in this country doesn't automatically ensure that it has met the high standards I hope for. But domestic origin (and as local to where we live as possible) is easier in most cases to monitor than factories thousands of miles away. 2) Naomi Klein's book No Logo is soon to be available in an updated, 10th anniversary edition. I recommend her passionate reporting as an excellent place to begin this journey, what I want to call a "race to the top."
Wouldn't a true patriot be worried about that?
For years I have tried to buy American. Not out of any xenophobia or America-first hubris, but because of a growing frustration at the flood of imports drowning what is left of American industry. Sometimes I wonder: do we actually make anything in this country anymore except fancy financial derivatives and sub-prime mortgages? Anything that doesn't end up making a Wall Street few rich?
It has become nearly impossible to find even common household items: clothes, tools, bedding, towels, sheets, toys, kitchen utensils--you name it--not made in China or India or El Salvador or. . . someplace offshore. So I long ago became a dedicated "tag-checker" as I shop. The phrases "Made in USA" or "Made in America" are rare sightings.
I happened to read Naomi Klein's No Logo recently. It is a powerful and scary expose not only of America's crumbling manufacturing base, but also of the almost exponential growth of manufacturing outsourcing to developing countries, manufacturing geared to one thing and one thing only: profit. Not fair wages; not fair labor practices; not worker health and safety; not environmental protection--and not quality products. Instead: profit for the very few.
Many of the most famous brand names, names on consumer items many of us already own, are involved in this race to the bottom: Nike, JC Penney, Sears, Ralph Lauren, Mattel, L.L. Bean, Ann Taylor, The Gap. . .
Look at almost any retailer, really look. And you'll see the "imported" label on nearly all, if not all of their products. Even the high-priced ones.
Shopping for things is not our whole reason for being, of course. But we all need to be consumers from time to time. No escape from that! We want certain things and we want to pay as little as possible. It's human nature.
But sometimes a "bargain" is really a pact with the devil. Did a child make this towel? What is the hourly wage of the worker who made this blouse? Is the factory where these shoes originated a safe environment in which to work? What environmental damage resulted from the the creation of this furniture? I have decided to radically reassess what, how, when I buy anything. I want to know more of the true story of its manufacture. And I am willing to pay a higher price if necessary, for a more honest and domestic product.
In future posts I hope to share the names of companies and individuals who, IMO, are making a quality product, at a fair (if not cheap) price, under safe labor and environmental conditions, and in this country. I invite you to share your thoughts on "made in America", as well as your own "made in America" discoveries and recommendations.
Two final points for now. 1) I realize that simply because a product is made in this country doesn't automatically ensure that it has met the high standards I hope for. But domestic origin (and as local to where we live as possible) is easier in most cases to monitor than factories thousands of miles away. 2) Naomi Klein's book No Logo is soon to be available in an updated, 10th anniversary edition. I recommend her passionate reporting as an excellent place to begin this journey, what I want to call a "race to the top."
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