Shopaholic Reform: Exciting Additions

Tuesday, January 4

Exciting Additions

This weekend was a weekend of shopping....shocking I know. BUT what you don't know is that a lot of the purchases were what I consider to be purchases of conscious consumer. The lesser of these acquisitions was that of the ornament organizer and shoe rack from the Container Store. Both of these items were made in the USA, which I mentioned in my earlier post. I was pretty shocked by this, I mean even Rubbermaid is made over in China now! I just sort of assume at this point that anything plastic isn't made in the US, so it was a nice surprise when I checked and our Container Store purchases were domestically made.

Another exciting purchase was our new Palm Restaurant butcher block/wine rack/utility table thing. I have no idea what to call this thing, I just know that I love it. We got it at Homegoods on sale for $400, a huge markdown for it's original price of $1,000. It's made from sustainably harvested wood all of which was grown in the northeast...so as far as wood products, that's about as sustainable as it gets aside from going out back, chopping down your own tree and trying to build the damn thing yourself as far as I'm concerned.

So you might be saying, okay so it was made sustainably, but did you really need it? Well the answer is, sort of. We were in need of a bit more counter space and I wanted a place for my fancy new Kitchen Aid mixer to live. So you can see that it was clearly a quasi-necessary purchase.

This isn't exactly what ours looks like, but it gives you an idea. Ours has a top drawer with a wooden handle, no cutting board or knife holder, and instead of the bottom shelf it has three open wine racks that pull in and out and a glass hanger to store glassware. It's freed up quite a bit of space in our cabinets, given the mixer and the booze a place to call home, and is also storing all wine/booze related accessories as well as all of my baking gizmos. Fabulous.

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Something to Chew On...

The downside to Globalization

1. “The general complaint about globalization is that it has made the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer. It is wonderful for managers and investors, but hell on workers and nature.”¹

2. Multinational corporations are accused of social injustice, unfair working conditions (including slave labor wages and poor living and working conditions), as well as a lack of concern for the environment, mismanagement of natural resources, and ecological damage.

3. Multinational corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions. Many think there is a threat of corporations ruling the world because they are gaining power due to globalization.

4. Opponents say globalization makes it easier for rich companies to act with less accountability. They also claim that countries’ individual cultures are becoming overpowered by Americanization.

5. Anti-globalists also claim that globalization is not working for the majority of the world. During the most recent period of rapid growth in global trade and investment, 1960 to 1998, inequality worsened both internationally and within countries. The UN Development Program reports that the richest 20 percent of the world's population consume 86 percent of the world's resources, while the poorest 80 percent consume just 14 percent.

6. Some experts think that globalization is also leading to the incursion of communicable diseases. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of the globe.

7. Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods. There is also an increase in human trafficking.

8. Social welfare schemes or “safety nets” are under great pressure in developed countries because of deficits and other economic ramifications of globalization.

As manufacturing continues to decline, so does our ability to innovate. In the long term, this means fewer well-paid jobs, lower productivity, declining wages, declining living standards and low economic growth. Globalization is a big part of this decline and will affect all jobs and all sectors of the economy. From the point of view of multinational corporations and Wall Street investors, globalization is probably viewed as a wonderful phenomenon with many opportunities. But from the point of view of American manufacturers, manufacturing workers, the middle class, professional service workers and overall economic growth, I think the disadvantages far out weigh the advantages.

-Mike Collins, The Pros and Cons of Globalization (2010)