Made in China?

[rescuer]

About 12 months ago there was a programme on Radio 4 about the growth of the container fleets.
When discussing the variety of goods arriving in Felixstowe it was mentioned that a container from China contained sofas to be delivered to the branch of a widely advertised company.
Do they have any production facilities in the UK?

[Booldawg]

Probably not. Production costs over here cost so much due to the higher wages demanded by British workers, even �8 a hour isnt enough for a man with mortgage and family to get by on.

In China and many other countries the cost of living is considerably less hence lower material prices, labour costs and a more competively priced sofa.

Yes its a shame but who wants to pay 3 times the amount just to say its British made?

[chinadog]

When we got a new suite 3years ago it came from Greece! I was suprised, I thought it was made in the UK.

[Gormless]

Look up the word "greed", think on that word.

It is why nothing in the shops anymore is "Made in England"

Greed. Oh I want more and more and more!

[chinadog]

Correction m,dear gormless " Made in th UK or Britian".

[Gourmander]

I listened to that programme. They also said there were about 100 illegal immigrants in each container, many from Tibet. The Home Office have allowed them to stay because of their furniture making skills. They have been made welcome by the people Suffolk and have integrated well into their simple way of life, helping one another work the land. Other parts of the country could learn a lot from this, instead of moaning about them stealing jobs and benefits.

[Whickerman]

Raleigh Bikes, Dyson vacuums and Doctor Martens are sadly no longer made in the UK. Why does anything else surprise you?

[stewey]

Sadly, this situation is not confined to the UK. Here, in Canada, most items appear to be made in China, Indonesia, or Taiwan. The tacky little presents you buy in Niagara Falls: "Made In China". As other people have mentioned, I guess the major reason is labor costs.

[derekpara]

It seems to me, and from the answers above, that there is a levelling out or swing of wealth in most of the world . We in the West are seeing a lowering in our standaard of living, with worse to come, while eastern countries where labour is cheap are expanding, and people's living standards are on the up.

What, I wonder, will the world be like in 10-20 years time ?

A destitute GB where people will be grateful for a job 'tilling the soil' ? and former Chinese and Indian peasants driving Mercedes ?

[tamborine]

We discard too much too often as a 'throw away' society.

We redecorate with seasonal change and most replacement goodies come from Eastern 'sweat factories' that dont have to bide by our employment & safety laws.

[rescuer]

But I feel that the place of origin of the furniture should be given. When the 'slashed' prices are given the original price will be the UK manufactured price so the reduced price is not really true.
A few years ago I met a man from China, selling fireworks, to one of my business contacts . I mentioned to him that Double Two shirts had announced that they were stopping making shirts here and transferring it all to China. The MD of Double Two said he had been paying �6 per hour and that it would be only 15P an hour in China.
The Chinese man said: "15P? No it is only 10P an hour."

[fredpuli47]

Surely the goods are all labelled 'made in China' or 'made in ROC' Goods made in the EU do not have to be labelled with a country of origin. One 'problem' in the US has been that the goods are , in reality, made in China but finished in the US, thereby enabling a crafty supplier to pretend that the whole thing is of US manufacture .

It's not just cheap goods, either. Savile Row tailors measure the customer, he picks the cloth and style, but the suit is cut and made in the rough in Shanghai.The fitter in London merely makes such minor adjustments as are necessary to finish the suit on fitting. The only suits not made this way now are made here to special order of the customer or where Shanghai isn't set up for the design. If anyone wants an evening suit with a tail coat, it'll be made here !