The Witch on the Fence,Our"Throw Away" Society, Cheap Imports/Guilt! [View All]

[KoKo]

I posted in the Lounge last night about my Cheap Witch Halloween decoration. Got little response...assumed people thought it was kind of silly that I couldn't decide whether to put a Halloween decoration out on my fence, or not, because it my get ruined in the rain. I thought I would revise my post to clarify what I was thinking because I wonder if anyone else, here, has thoughts about or has personal experience with what cheap imports from China and elsewhere may have done to the small "Cottage Industries" which used to thrive in the US until about fifteen years ago.

I used to love to sew. I've made my own window treatments, clothing, decorator pillows, and many crafts projects which I used to sell at Craft Fairs when I lived in Connecticut and New Jersey. I had several friends who used to custom knit sweaters from wool they dyed themselves from natural homemade dyes, another who made holiday door decorations out of natural dried flowers she grew or collected, and another who made incredible jewelry out of "found objects." There was a thriving crafts movement which exploded in the late 60's and lasted until the mid-'80's when suddenly a flood of cheap imports seemed to come into America as the Walmarts sprouted up and opened shop everywhere.

Most of us found that we couldn't purchase the materials and put the time in anymore to compete with the flood of "door wreaths, clothing, quilts, craft decorations, you name it....which were coming out of China and Taiwan. We couldn't understand why it cost us more to buy the products we needed fabric, glue, natural undyed wool, wood, jewelry fastenings, needles thread, yarn and other implements to assemble our products. Yet, one could buy an imported wreath from China with herbs, dried flowers and vines for about $9.99 when the time and effort to make one here in the US from our own native grown plants including the artistic creativity would have the product have to sell at a "Craft Fair" for about $30.00. (That also included the money which had to be factored in for the fee to the Fair Vendor. The same was true for my other friends with their handmade sweaters competing with a $15.00 import from China made in Acrylic but perfectly matching the Irish Fisherman Knit pattern that my friends Grandmother had taught her. Her sweater would sell for $75.00 which included the wool the dye preparation and her knitting time. The materials purchase price, plus time and feels made it impossible for us to continue to make money doing this anymore. And, gradually, we ourselves became purchasers of these "cheap" convenient and generally "well made" Chinese/Taiwan imports. And, we watched as the Craft Fairs morphed into Flea Market type "Vendor Shows" or show places for "High End" luxury imports. Some of the Craft Fairs are still out there and some folks make a living at it, but what they sell is usually "imported" even thought it looks hand made.

How much of what used to be "Home Based" or "Hobby Based" businesses that brought in extra income has been wiped out by the Cheap Imports? Has this harmed our culture in ways we aren't even aware of?
This bothers me, because I wonder by buying her, I have somehow contibuted to more of the homogenizing of America and the Cottage Industries, which may already be dead if they aren't just gasping for life out there. And if we buy it cheap do we value it less and care less when we throw it away? What have we thrown away by allowing these imports? Or, has it been a necessary change in our culture as the Repugs think? In other words the mantra that Manufacturing Jobs will never come back and we don't need them anyway, because our economy has evolved beyond that point?

Here's my Lounge Post.

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It's raining too hard to put my "Witch Bashing into the Fence" Chinese Purchase!

My witch is in her "Chinese Box" made by Chinese 2cents a day labor, but I just HAD to BUY HER! To
purchase the fabric and eyes, nose, hat, fabric, would have cost me more than the $9.99 I paid for in the
"after Halloween clearance bin in 2002" at my local Eckards Drug Store cost me. She's so cute! She is made
to look like she ran into my fence on her flying voyage...and she has a great costume with green and black
and a big witch hat and broom!

I used to sew, BIG TIME! But everything I sewed cost me so much after the fabric, thread, and time that I
just gave it up during Poppy's administration when I could buy it from one of the countries who supported
Poppy I's war in Gulf, for so much less than even purchasing all the items from my most cheapest of
discount craft/fabric stores.

But, I have a MAGNIFICENT WITCH! She is beautiful, and I never could have purchased here in the US
today, the supplies to make her on my old Singer Sewing Machine!

But, it's raining. Should I take a chance and put her out on my picket fence gate, anyway? Just figure that if
the dyes run in the rain and she is ruined with her wonderful peaky witch hat...drooping from the damp and
her cute little broom gets all frazzled from the rain.....that I should just "GO FOR IT?"

Figure...what the Hell....I only paid $9.99 on CLEARANCE for her.....so if she droops and runs, and
frazzles....it doesn't matter? Just "ditch her in the garbage as a throw away?"