American Made

I have been working to get ready for my big move.  One of things I have been doing is looking at my clothes and trying to determine if I need any items for New England.  I had decided that I will be wearing coats for 3 of the 4 seasons.  Since I do not have many coats and the ones I do have are old and need to be discarded, I thought I would purchase some new coats.  Easy enough to do since this is the time of year for great sales.  Not so fast, that last time I talked to Amy she discussed the importance of not purchasing items made in China due to labor practices and chemicals used in production.  Our family is a firm believer of boycotting items or stores that do not maintain ethical practices.  Amy had read about the many unethical practices used by China to produce goods sold in America.  I agreed with her decision to not purchase any items made in China.

One of the big box stores was having a sale on all women's coats.  All coats were being sold for 20 dollars.  Now I, like Amy, love a bargain so my husband and I set out for the store so we could partake in the great deals.  When I got to the women's section, I first looked for a stylish coat.  I found a cute and stylish coat but Amy's words rang out "We are not buying items made in China"!  I began to read the label on my perfect coat selection.   "Made in China" was on the label.  I put the coat back on the rack and began reading all the labels.  When my husband found me in the women's section he was shocked to see me holding a lime green puffer coat.  "You're not buying that coat are you?"  No, I stated I am reading the label to determine where it was made.  I was amazed he would think I would purchase lime green puffer coat.  I could just envision myself coming down the ski mountain in lime green.  Everyone would know when I was at the bottom of the mountain.

After reading the label of every coat in the women's section, I discovered that not one coat was made in America.  When I told my husband that we were not purchasing items made in China, he began is long lecture about a global world and that we are forever connected yada yada yada.  I grabbed the stylish coat, purchased it and left the store with my husband still lecturing about the state of our economy and our global connection.  My husband has his Ph.D. in  business so I have learned not engage in his lectures or they will go on for hours.

When we returned home, I began reading all the labels on all my coats.  All were made in China or Vietnam.  How do we buy American if all or most of our clothes are made in China?  I began to picture myself a year from now in a wool sweater that Amy knitted.  Oh, that is a scary mind movie especially since Amy has no idea how to knit!  I can't knit, sew or doing anything that requires creativity.  It could be a very granola year at Heir Head Manor with everyone wearing homemade clothing and none us knowing how to do anything.  Maybe I should start the boycott after I have purchased all the needed items.  That sounds like a wise plan.  I am going shopping tomorrow.