Monday, September 28, 2009
Hidden Culprit of Product Scandal Made in China
The article is about the blame on China for its unsafe goods. The authors starts with his own anecdote about his visit to a knockoff market in Shanghai. He met an American who thought of himself as an experienced shopper at this market. Actually, he is willing to pay more than a hundred dollars for some fake designer watch that is worth only about ten bucks, and yet he thinks it's cheap enough for something branded Rolex. Not only making fake designer stuff, China also exports many unsafe and low- quality products every year. However, the author makes the point that China should not be solely blamed. It produces and exports those products partly because of our "instatiable appetite for its cheap products, labor and loose regulations."
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4 comments:
Everyone knows that low cost products are never perfect. It's hard to achieve low cost and high quality goods. Even though this is the case, it's shocking to learn about the expose of the fake Chinese market. India too has such markets and so does New York city, however its interesting to know that China being the world's biggest exporter is still upto its unhealthy tactics. After seeing various Chinese products being called back for inspection reasons, I wonder why the US still deals wholly with China? They could possibly look into other Asian markets for cheap labor and inexpensive input costs. The US needs to act upon this expose, and try to tackle and move around these public made issues!
This article is interesting because it looks at the issue of unsafe Chinese goods from another perspective. Americans are horrified when they find out their children's toys contain lead paint, yet they are quick to snatch up cheaper Chinese goods. I think this is a good example of the need for government involvement; consumers need information about what really goes on in Chinese factories, and they need assurance that the goods they buy are safe.
I really enjoyed reading this article because it is not simply told from the outside but rather from a primary source who actually experienced the "knockoff market" in Shanghai for himself. We see at a first hand experience that not only are some Chinese producers are selling fake products such as watches and computer parts, but also everday items that not only the Chinese use, but we too as Americans consume. Items such as poisoned toothpaste, toys made with lead paint, and even seafood that has pollutants and antibiotics in them really makes you think about where you actually are getting your products from and how safe they truly are.
This is a very interesting article and I agree with the author that ethical changes in regulation probably will not occur until the Chinese economy takes some kind of hit. However, one issue that I would have liked the author to address a little more is the possibility of regulating the means of cutting costs in American industries in order to prevent cheap outsourcing to countries like China that results in poor and even unsafe quality.
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