You get what you pay for

In a blog entry called, "The China Price", Nigel Hollis asks if "you get what you pay for" when it comes to China. He reports that 80% of the world's toys come from China, and that "wooden railway toys coated with lead paint" were recently discovered.

This is straight economics. When the price is pushed hard, quality is often the loser. In the US, consumers push price hard. We're told that price is the number one factor in the purchasing decision. Nigel says this:

People are not to blame for wanting the best price, but Western retailers and manufacturers who try to provide the best price by buying their products or ingredients from the cheapest supplier (at home or abroad) are potentially vulnerable.

I agree. People aren't to blame for wanting the lowest price. But they are to blame for not factoring in other hidden costs. People must be aware that when they buy a shirt from Wal-Mart for $1.99 with a Made in China label that there are hidden costs associated with that shirt. Quality is certainly one. The China brand isn't yet associated with quality. But there's also an intuitive cost associated with the shirt. Like 'quality', it's hard to quantify, but that doesn't mean it's hard to identify.

He finishes his post with this question:

Who is ultimately responsible for the quality and safety of the goods we buy?

Some will argue that the market should be responsible. If the "China brand" continues to be blasted with lead toys, bad fish, poisonous toothpaste, there will be a tipping point whereby people will avoid it. However, there could be changes in the labeling laws that make it harder to avoid. How does one avoid eating Chinese ascorbic acid (vitamin C) if it isn't labeled? Likewise, how does one avoid eating Chinese fish if it's merely fish in your local Wal-Mart?

My feeling is, and always has been that there are cost hidden within the China Brand. Although, avoiding it altogether is tough, consumers can make smarter decisions about purchases that will move the market to items that combine quality, safety and price.

Finally, I know this: I would not want to be on the creative team selling brand China.