One mom's fruitless quest to boycott China

I was quite proud of myself when I found an American-made toy among Chinese products at a local retailer. It was a Yahtzee Jr. “Spiderman and Friends” game.

When I got home and gloated to my husband about my find, he picked up the game and read out loud: “Made in USA with dice made in China.”

I thought I was being smart during Halloween convincing my daughter and son to be ghosts instead of buying a China-made superhero or fairy costume. The kids were excited, and all I needed were a couple of cotton white sheets. We went off to Target to buy the sheets and rushed home to cut out holes.

While the kids were running around haunting the living room, I went to throw out the plastic bags the sheets came in and suddenly I realized I hadn’t read the country of origin. I slowly turned the bag over there it was, China.

I was beside myself at this point and realized I needed a pep talk.

I had recently purchased “A Year Without 'Made in China': One Family’s True Life Adventure in the Global Economy.” Author Sara Bongiorni tried not to buy any Chinese products for a year. I decided to track down the author and speak to her, mother to mother.

Bongiorni decided to boycott Chinese products before the onslaught of safety issues. Human rights, working conditions and environmental concerns were the foremost issues on her mind.

So I asked her the burning question: Is it possible to completely boycott Chinese products?

“I think it’s possible to a certain extent, but it’s very difficult,” she explained. “So many ordinary items come only from China.”

“You can’t do this part-time," she said. "You have to fully commit yourself to it. It took over our lives for the year.”

Indeed. I actually dreamed recently that I was drowning in a sea of Chinese toys.

I have to keep this all in perspective, including whether I may be blowing this all out of proportion, and that maybe my kids will be OK after all if I take my chances with Chinese goods.

Seung Kim with the St. Louis University’s Boeing Institute of International Business says boycotts are an emotional issue. “A person like you, in the media, should be objective and fair,” he says. “U.S. products are safer than Chinese products, no question about that. But the Chinese are improving quality.”

And the reality is we have few choices.

All my daughter wanted for her birthday a few weeks ago was a Webkinz, the popular furry stuffed animals that have virtual lives on the Web. But, you guessed it, made in China.

Up until that point, my daughter has been great about the ban, but this one hit her where she lives. "Everyone in my class has one, Mommy," she said in her saddest little-girl voice.

We didn’t get the Webkinz and opted for a book illustration kit called Illustory I bought off the Web. My husband also bought a Kodak camera for our budding 8-year old photographer.

But as I sat at my desk writing this story I got a sinking feeling. Neither my husband nor I checked where the camera was made.

I asked my daughter to bring me the camera. There were those familiar words, “Made in China.”

“Darn, my first camera, and I have to throw it away,” my daughter cried.

I surrender!

You win, global marketplace.

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