Changing to Buy British and European

I bought some games for my GC for Christmas - Orchard Toys. They are mainly jigsaws and board games.

They say this on their website 'We are proud of our British roots, and still design all our products at our head office in the market town of Wymondham in Norfolk'.

www.orchardtoys.com/index/about-us_30.htm

Which is fair enough. However, the games are actually produced in China but they don't mention that.

I used to love the British pottery and Sheffield stainless steel was really good. I still look out for British made things in the op shops. Still a few books around. I collect horsebrasses when I see them, too. The things from the UK are always well made.

Just out of interest I looked at 10 of the items, some quite old, mostly from M&S that I was sorting into charity bags or tip.
India
India
China
China
China
France
France
Portugal
UK
UK
On the other hand, out of 10 books bound for sale to the second hand bookshop
All except one were printed and bound in the UK and most of the wood pulp for making paper here apparently comes from the UK, though that was trickier to pin down.
So, it’s more UK friendly to read books than to wear clothes.

Perhapss I should add, that over the years, I am not that adventurous in which shops I have bought from.
Though some of my clothes are from charity shops or given to me by other people. So there is a bit of a range.

Not sure I agree with the principle, but I had reason to look at the labels of most of my clothes in my wardrobe recently.
I only found one item that was British made. I nearly jumped back in surprise when I read the label.
Cant remember which item it was now.

petra

We have bought a British made washing machine. An Ebac.

I thought that was an academic qualification! 🤣🤣

We have bought a British made washing machine. An Ebac.

I bought a new tv remote recently.

Made In China.

No choice, really.

I have been trying to buy British since reading Patrick Grant's book "Less" last year.
Beware of things described as "designed in Britain" - that usually means they aren't actually made here.
If I can't buy new I look for second-hand British-made from eBay. That doesn't support British industry but it is more eco friendly than buying imports.

I have to shop online for crafting supplies as local shops have all closed down. The quality is dreadful and even things like a simple white shirt button are mass produced to poor standards in the PRC!
Believe me, I would happily pay a little more for better quality and the assurance that goods were produced 'closer to home'.
As for coffee shops, I will not set foot in Costa or Starbucks and prefer to visit smaller, independent establishments to support local businesses.

Hardly anything is made here in Australia except wool for knitting. 99.9% Chinese for just about everything except we do still produce most of our own food. The really annoying thing is that Temu sells Australian wool for a cheaper price than we can here. Grr. The UK seems to have taken over a lot of our private health - BUPA, Specsavers etc.

Casdon look carefully at the label. Sometimes, in tiny letters,
It says designed in the UK

I do try but it is extremely difficult sometimes. My Dualit toaster is made in the U.K. and I love it. My DH nearly had a spasm when he realised what it cost.
Trying to support our and other ‘friendly’ countries can be expensive but occasionally can save a bit. If I pick up an item of clothing that is made in China I put it back, I can live without it. More difficult for some items though.
Some people think UGG boots are Australian. Only the ones bought in Australia from certain factories are still made there so it’s all very tricky. I got mine (not UGG) from Celtic.

I can recommend Pantharella socks - made in Leicester.
They have a Kitchener toe - means there’s no seam around the toes to cause a blister.

I saw them on one of those ‘made in factory’ programmes.

Mollygo

Even if you buy clothes from a British company, there is no guarantee that they will be made in the UK.

.

I know Haden make kettles in the UK.

They are RosieandherMaw. John Smedley still make socks in the UK, but I think only for men, and they are probably about £30 a pair. There are a few other brands as well, but Oreo is right about the cost. The best value I found was by Community Clothing, the brand supported by Patrick Grant, they cost £8.50 a pair but do look really nice.

Mollygo don’t they only display the Union Jack on their site if they make them in the UK?

Even if you buy clothes from a British company, there is no guarantee that they will be made in the UK.

Nordic socks are made in Europe, in factories that meet EU standards. Some brands that make Nordic socks include The Nordic Sock Company and Nordic Socks UK.
Other brands are presumably available.

You’re right on socks. You can get ones made in the UK, but they are a lot more expensive. My daughter gave me some for my birthday, from Fatface, which according to the label are made in Turkey, but I can’t find that it says so on their website. It would be so much easier if everything was labelled.

In shops and online I try to check which countries produced items.
Unfortunately it’s just about impossible to avoid Chinese made goods, I have to consider cost and haven’t found any socks other than made in China.I think they have a whole city there that produces nothing else!
If I can then will always buy made in UK or other European countries as a matter of course.

Whilst I agree that makes a point, the coffee is awful though Babs03, I prefer Caffè Nero, which is European owned.

I’m thinking more of a long term strategy to rely less on USA, China, India etc. and keep manufacturing alive in Europe.

But people can protest by going to Starbucks, sounds counterintuitive I know but Starbucks in the US are atm being sued for being 'too' diverse inasmuch as there are too many women and minorities working there. So would frequent your local starbucks and advise others to do the same.

Medication is a global market Rula, the UK also exports around the world, so I don’t think that is something to be included in any plans about how to buy more thoughtfully as an individual, because we have no control.

I was thinking more about discretionary purchases, of which we are in control. I try to buy British made clothes when I can already, but I’ve not tried up to now to source other things made in Europe.

I think we get a lot of medication from USA.

if it makes people feel better by boycotting that's great. Personally I'm just too lazy and but what I want without giving it much thought