A Wild Goose Chase for Toys Not Made in China

It all started with one of those conversations that we have when we get older (with other people that are getting older):

“Do you remember those old wood castles we used to play with?”
“I loved my old rocking horse.”
“I loved my Raggedy Ann doll.”
“Remember when the Fisher Price Garage was made of wood not plastic?”
“Remember when toys were made in the USA?”

That was the discussion that led me on a proverbial wild goose chase. A close friend and I decided to go on a mission to find “old fashioned” toys made in the USA or Europe. We went to five large toy stores in the course of a week only to discover what we pretty much knew already – almost everything was made in China. And boy, do I mean everything. Given the recent toy recalls, this didn’t fill us with much confidence.

So, did we find any toys not made in China? Drum roll please – here is the sum total of what we found (yes, it is possible we didn’t get to everything): One Children’s Book made in Thailand. Yes ONE!

I am really not kidding. That was it – in five stores. We looked at stuffed animals, books, dvds, trucks, cars, seats, dolls, blocks, ducks, boats, push toys, plush toys, infant toys, toddler toys, and “big kid toys” and that was it – one book made in Thailand.

So what is the big deal? Again, see the above comment about toy recalls, but also think about the trade deficit with China. According to the US Census Bureau, in April 2008, the United States exported 5.68 billion dollars in goods to China and imported 29.5 billion dollars of goods. The upshot is – we send the raw materials of cotton, leather, and paper to China and they send us back our products. The real upshot is, there are good companies in America & Europe trying to compete with these cheaper products and finding that big “name-brand” stores don’t want to carry their products because they cost more.

What is the moral of this wild goose chase? Although we realize that some of our favorite toys and products are made in China, and that is the nature of the global economy, we also understand that it is important to seek out companies and products that are made locally or independently. Yes, they might cost a bit more, but that money is well spent – as it helps to buy the safety of the toy & those that manufacture it, it helps to  support local economies, and it helps to curb the trade deficit.

So this mom hopes that some of her favorite toys, and her kids’ favorite toys, will be good old fashioned toys not necessarily made in China.