Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, December 8, 2009
News Good Luck With That
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 8:42 AM
Plagued by product recalls including toxic toys and poison pet food, and facing rising trade barriers for its exports, China is taking a page from the American corporate playbook: It has hired a Madison Avenue ad agency to help burnish its image. In what's believed to be China's first global ad campaign, a television commercial airing on CNN in the U.S., Asia and Europe portrays satisfied consumers enjoying Chinese-made goods.
Hm... maybe one commercial can feature a man brushing his teeth with Chinese-made poisoned toothpaste in a house full of toxic Chinese-made drywall while his kids play with lead-laced Chinese-made toys and then their pet sickens after eating Chinese-made pet foods and then the whole family dies after piling into the family car to rush their sick pet to the vet when their Chinese-made tires disintegrate.
3
I love the outrage over toxic chinese consumer goods. We want, nay, demand ultra-cheap shit and are then shocked! when they turn out to be less than safe. Gee, who would have thought that the $1.15 barbie doll you just bought isnt made of organic pressed rosepetals...
5
American corporations are such pillars of morality
they should be used as models for others. Yeah, right.
they should be used as models for others. Yeah, right.
6
I agree with #3 - organic rosepetals, indeed. Use common sense, pay at least a little attention to the quality and origin of what you buy, and you'll be safer for it.
Crappy imported goods exist because there is demand for them.
If Chinese goods are so harmful to Americans, then the smart Americans will do their best to avoid buying them (global marketing campaign or not). Those of us who are stupid enough or value their safety little enough will continue to buy them, and if they turn out to be dangerous, well, isn't that just natural selection?
Crappy imported goods exist because there is demand for them.
If Chinese goods are so harmful to Americans, then the smart Americans will do their best to avoid buying them (global marketing campaign or not). Those of us who are stupid enough or value their safety little enough will continue to buy them, and if they turn out to be dangerous, well, isn't that just natural selection?
7
It'd only be natural selection if those that bought the goods didn't live long enough to breed. Sadly not the case.
9
Dee @ 6: "Crappy imported goods exist because there is demand for them."
That's true to an extent, but it isn't fair to blame it all on the consumer. Chinese-made goods are everywhere; they are almost impossible to avoid now that North America's manufacturing sector has all but disappeared. The problem lies in a market so free that corporate profits take primacy over consumer safety. Not to mention North American jobs and fair wages for all.
That's true to an extent, but it isn't fair to blame it all on the consumer. Chinese-made goods are everywhere; they are almost impossible to avoid now that North America's manufacturing sector has all but disappeared. The problem lies in a market so free that corporate profits take primacy over consumer safety. Not to mention North American jobs and fair wages for all.
11
The price we pay for seriously cheap shit whether it be from walmart, walgreens, target etc.
I also remembered when japanese brand names like sony and panasonic meant an almost guaranteed long lasting product that worked.
I also remembered when japanese brand names like sony and panasonic meant an almost guaranteed long lasting product that worked.
12
Ooh, xenophobia. And maybe a little slant-eye racism, too! Those dastardly Chinese.
Dollar for dollar, Chinese goods are vastly superior in both quality and safety than American goods. Compare a typical Chinese factory, with it's all-new equipment and serried ranks of identically-suited young people sitting under bright lights at their ergonomically-designed workstations, versus the typical American factory with single bare incandescent bulbs, leaking barrels of ketone in the corner, a century's worth of black grease stains on the floor, half the machines shut down for good because parts aren't available, staffed by drug addicts and illegal immigrants, half of whom are stealing the copper wire and other building parts on the side.
You can complain about Chinese pet food, but are you aware of what goes on in a typical American food plant? Seen the inside of a Tyson chicken factory? Heard the stories of piles of foodstuffs heaped on the filthy floor, soaking up god knows what from the cleaning rags next to it?
Dollar for dollar, Chinese goods are vastly superior in both quality and safety than American goods. Compare a typical Chinese factory, with it's all-new equipment and serried ranks of identically-suited young people sitting under bright lights at their ergonomically-designed workstations, versus the typical American factory with single bare incandescent bulbs, leaking barrels of ketone in the corner, a century's worth of black grease stains on the floor, half the machines shut down for good because parts aren't available, staffed by drug addicts and illegal immigrants, half of whom are stealing the copper wire and other building parts on the side.
You can complain about Chinese pet food, but are you aware of what goes on in a typical American food plant? Seen the inside of a Tyson chicken factory? Heard the stories of piles of foodstuffs heaped on the filthy floor, soaking up god knows what from the cleaning rags next to it?
13
If there was a heaven (or hell) the American Robber Barons of old would be looking down (or up) weeping with tears of joy at China. Certianly China IS the next America!!
14
Irena @ 9 - "The problem lies in a market so free that corporate profits take primacy over consumer safety"
I agree. But, I feel that the average American promotes (out of ignorance) a commercial environment that is conducive to 'profit over safety'. The lion may be evil, but if the sheep keep doing the lion's bidding... well, you see my point?
As long as consumers continue to be so easily influenced and unquestioning, corporations will continue to take advantage of it. You can really blame both parties, as well as the government that makes only token efforts to improve the situation.
I agree. But, I feel that the average American promotes (out of ignorance) a commercial environment that is conducive to 'profit over safety'. The lion may be evil, but if the sheep keep doing the lion's bidding... well, you see my point?
As long as consumers continue to be so easily influenced and unquestioning, corporations will continue to take advantage of it. You can really blame both parties, as well as the government that makes only token efforts to improve the situation.
15
Well shit, Fnarf makes it sound so wonderful I think we should all pack our bags and move to China. Because any place that incredible must be a great place to live, right?
16
It's also worth noting that the Chinese government will execute your ass if you're caught manufacturing unsafe goods or even just green light unsafe goods to be sold to consumers. What happens to American executives who intentionally manufacture unsafe goods or refuse to recall them because it's too expensive? Jack all. Their companies get sued, and the executives laugh all the way to the bank.
17
Actually, Fnarf, it's kind of a mixed bag over there. I've seen the clean, sanitary, new facilities (largely because American safety standards require that level of cleanliness and sanitation in the production of those products) as well as the things that looked like the shop of a backwoods tinkerer (except filled with really noxious toxic chemicals and with the workers wearing less protection than even your average redneck garage head). But yes, dollar for dollar Chinese goods are safer and higher-quality than American-made goods.
It does, in the end, boil down to the consumer. We can have fewer, higher-quality things, or we can have copious amounts of crap. Choose the former, and you'll probably see more jobs stay in the developed world, at least for the time being. Choose the latter, and you'll have jobs shipped off to places with cheaper wages and lower environmental and safety standards. Problem is, a few yuppies choosing the organic pressed rose-petal toy does not move markets, Reel Amerikuns do. Sad but true.
It does, in the end, boil down to the consumer. We can have fewer, higher-quality things, or we can have copious amounts of crap. Choose the former, and you'll probably see more jobs stay in the developed world, at least for the time being. Choose the latter, and you'll have jobs shipped off to places with cheaper wages and lower environmental and safety standards. Problem is, a few yuppies choosing the organic pressed rose-petal toy does not move markets, Reel Amerikuns do. Sad but true.
18
The commercial can also show the family living in an apartment building that has trouble staying upright:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew…
19
FWIW, there also seems to be an assumption going around that all American consumer have the luxury of choosing between cheap and expensive goods.
20
Dee @ 14, I do see your point. I think we're pretty much in agreement here, we're just emphasizing different things.
Fnarf, you're painting a far-too-rosy picture of Chinese manufacturing. No, it's not all bad, but your "typical Chinese factory, with it's all-new equipment" often hides all kinds of inconsistencies that parent companies aren't aware of. I'm speaking particularly of electronics manufacturing, which I have some experience with. Unauthorized changes to a product's schematics happen all the time (with certain companies), and it IS dangerous--safety specs are ignored, products catch fire. And those brand-new factories are sometimes staffed with brand-new people who have no experience at all -- what Ms. D said about toxic chemicals and the lack of protection is absolutely true. As for the ergonomic work stations, I saw them; the young women who took over our production line could hardly move.
This is not to say that some Chinese factories don't do excellent work and treat their employees reasonably well; they do. But to accuse those on this thread who are complaining about the badly-made stuff of xenophobia is a bit over the top. Especially when you complain about "illegal immigrants, half of whom are stealing the copper wire and other building parts on the side".
Fnarf, you're painting a far-too-rosy picture of Chinese manufacturing. No, it's not all bad, but your "typical Chinese factory, with it's all-new equipment" often hides all kinds of inconsistencies that parent companies aren't aware of. I'm speaking particularly of electronics manufacturing, which I have some experience with. Unauthorized changes to a product's schematics happen all the time (with certain companies), and it IS dangerous--safety specs are ignored, products catch fire. And those brand-new factories are sometimes staffed with brand-new people who have no experience at all -- what Ms. D said about toxic chemicals and the lack of protection is absolutely true. As for the ergonomic work stations, I saw them; the young women who took over our production line could hardly move.
This is not to say that some Chinese factories don't do excellent work and treat their employees reasonably well; they do. But to accuse those on this thread who are complaining about the badly-made stuff of xenophobia is a bit over the top. Especially when you complain about "illegal immigrants, half of whom are stealing the copper wire and other building parts on the side".
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (20) RSS