![Why I Can [Probably] Never Shop [Almost Anywhere] Ever Again](https://www.milehighmamas.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/66/files/2015/01/Made-in-China-dark-1-1050x600.jpg)
The Associated Press published an article about the problem (understatement) of child abductions in China.
Did you know… approximately 70,000 children are abducted annually in China?
Did you know… they are sold into corrupt adoption agencies, sex trafficking, and child labor?
Did you know… the Chinese government is not helping parents to find their children?
I took my daughter shopping after reading this article. I couldn’t get it off my mind. For years I’ve been very conscious of where the products I purchase are made. I have decided to choose American made products whenever possible (and convenient, of course). But “vision leaks” as my husband likes to say, and recently I’ve bought just about anything without giving mind to where it is made.
Our shopping trip was a major (again, understatement) reality check. Nearly everything I touched, turned over, or manipulated to find the price tag was “Made in China.” You think I can’t be right? Try it the next time you’re at the mall.
Candles. Clothes. Shoes. Stationary. Toys. Teapots. I could make a list as long as my arm.
You come to expect the label at certain stores. But it’s everywhere. Now, think about that child abduction statistic. Think of how many children are being forced to make the products we are buying! Unwillingly taken from their families, kidnapped into a life of slavery.
The thought is more than I can handle.
And so I try to convince myself that our own American companies must be dealing with ethical business owners. Certainly they would have the resources to check on these manufacturing plants to make sure there aren’t child slaves making their products… Hmmm.
I’m not claiming to know the answer to this horrific situation. But I know for myself that I have to start making some decisions. That will start by educating myself and using my financial choices to make a statement.
How do you discern what products you can trust?
Author: Mile High Mamas
