Imports! Part 1

One word: IMPORTS. Does it send shivers down your spine? Does it make your blood boil? To many involved in the USA arts and crafts producing industry it will usually bring on a flood of emotions. Negative emotions.

In fact, many crafters will not attend shows that allow imported or machine manufactured products. Why, you ask? Do we hate our global neighbors? Racism? Not quite, my "Ricki Lake-minded" friend. The main reason: We cannot win a price war with countries who only pay their workers a fraction of what we make. (And it's not like most of us are making Bill Gates' salary to begin with.)

Not everyone involved in craft retailing is as concerned about the effect of imports on crafting as we, the USA craft manufacturers, are. In fact most of the "Big Guys" love imports. No names here. I can't afford the lawsuits. (Who can?) But, visit the well known country-craft retailer where we often go to for Sunday lunch. Now, browse the aisles. Lots of nice good old-fashioned country crafts as far as the eye can see! Great! Crafters must credit a lot of their wholesale business to this wonderful outlet for their goods, right? Wrong! Pick up that cute floppy-eared bunny, look for the price tag. "What???? There's no way I could produce this product for wholesale at this price! How can they afford to retail at this price?" Now, flip Peter Cottontail over (Be careful, some bunnies bite!), look for the tag that tells you where the product is made. (It's still law that this must be displayed. Although, lobbyists for certain corporations are trying to get this law changed.) What country did this cute, little bunny hop all the way from? China? Indonesia? Taiwan? Mexico? I wonder which part of the world the idea for this cute, fuzzy critter originated? Hmm I wonder...

How can these places produce this product for this minuscule price, you ask? To put it simply, you guessed it, the labor is cheap! I'm not going to get into reasons why here, that would take up way to much space, time, and it wouldn't accomplish anything. But, needless to say, a whole warehouse full of workers laboring for sub-minimum wages can produce a heck of a lot more wascally wabbits for a fraction of what you and I can. That also goes for baskets, oil paintings, pottery, or anything else that you can train someone to make. Now, in a global marketplace, almost anything can be produced for a heck of a lot less in other countries than in the USA.

What can we do about this problem? A boycott on imports? Dramatic price cuts on our end? (Hey, the kids don't really need all that dental work anyway, right?) How about an all-out war!

Well, maybe we can do something without having to get the kids wooden dentures. I think this can also be resolved without bloodshed.

That's what I'd like to hear from you about. Some ideas on solutions... Soon, we will be implementing some programs to make a difference and I want to be sure we get everyone's input. Together, we can change things and together, we will!

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