Why producing in China?

Welcome to the forum. Gold to hear, that you are happy.
You could try online resellers that have specialized in fair/ecological products like vireo.de or memolife.de for a start.

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Some time has gone by since my last posting. So I had time to think about the “Made in China” issue. New problems have emerged, the suppression of the democracy movement in Hongkong, the social scoring system, the imperialistic attitude of the communist government - a dictatorship which suppresses any opposition. As my company is selling products in China, I was asked by my management to not write with my real name about China (they know, that I am a so-called “links-grün versiffter Sozi”), otherwise the company or I could get in trouble (if I have to travel for the company to China). The Chinese government now, at the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the communist party, clearly states that it is a thread for democracy! Therefore, if I can buy products not Made in China, I will buy products made somewhere else. Mobile phones: Sony in Japan and Samsung in Korea are alternatives. I know, that they use many parts manufactured in China, and that the phones are not sustainable, but, well, in the end, China is not a democracy. I have hoped, that by trading with them and fighting poverty and with more and more well educated people the country would change. And it is changing, but not for good. If I buy a phone Made in China, I even might finance a military action against Taiwan! No way!

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Agree with your sentiment, but we are consumer orientated, we compete for the same resources and we have conflict, that is not going away wherever the phones are made.

You can only do what feels good for you, not the planet, democracy, china, for each encompasses many people all with the same needs as you and me, comfort and security, which ironically we fight each other for.

Democracy is a business name, but be assured it is just a business, within which are set ‘ethical’ targets.

You might consider buying a Gigaset GS290. They’re made in Germany…: Made in Germany | Gigaset (sorry, German article only).

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WOW! Wish I had know about this. Must read up ~ only just logged in and found the English language version.

https://www.gigaset.com/hq_en/gigaset-gs4/
EDIT: Have messaged them to ask if they can talk to Fairphone about accessing Fairtrade metals, . . .

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This discussion reminds me of when I was discussing Fairphone with someone on Reddit. They seemed to think that Fairphone was not worth it because they’re not carbon neutral or sourcing their parts from completely clean ethical sources. I think they have a decent point, it really should be done to have no waste or unethical processes involved.

But sadly that’s not the world we live in, and in order to make a phone these days there has to be concessions made. In light of this, I think Fairphone is doing the best they can. But I think the impact they make is greater than just the phone they produce. It’s similar to what DuckDuckGo does for privacy. They are making a point that it’s possible to make a business while keeping people’s rights in mind. Maybe it’s not as good as other services, or maybe it’s not perfect in what it’s doing. But what it’s trying to do makes note of that there a focus on just that can operate, and that putting profit over people is not necessary to survive in this world.

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Who’s ethics theirs, yours or mine ??

Pure fantasy, not us on this planet, maybe in heaven.

To add fuel to the fire, I avoid buying from China but that doesn’t mean I think others should boycott it and surprisingly President Khan of Pakistan has just come out in full support of Chinese policy ???

I really would be interested to learn, how those on Reddit consider that to be possible.
E.g. I read somewhere, that for 5g of gold 1 t of ore has to be moved, washed etc.
How can one get those precious metals out of the earth and call this process completely clean and ethical; ever? Maybe I just lack the fantasy it takes for such concepts. :wink:

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Liking @BertG 's post is not enough, it shouldn’t take much of a brain to see that ‘completely clean ethical’ resourcing is a money making con, the New Religion chant, where profit can be made without loss.

Forget the profit focus on the loss, it isn’t going away, but profit is on it’s way out.

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