to boycott products made in China and India?

[Lowkeyloopy]

So angry that they have watered down an agreement aimed at saving the planet that my (shortly to be born) child will be living in.

Yes people will say it’s unfair that the more developed economies have enjoyed all the benefits of burning fossil fuels and are now dictating that other countries should stop. Well, tough. We are where we are and the world is on fire.

I’m also sick and tired of people saying that individuals can’t make a difference, AND of the government congratulating itself on bringing down our own carbon emissions. We don’t MAKE anything in this country - we ship it in from other countries. If we all stopped buying crap we don’t need that is manufactured on the cheap in those countries, we could actually help ensure those countries cut their carbon emissions and genuinely bring down our own individual carbon footprints.

So I guess I’m angry at China and India for watering down the COP agreement, but I’m angry at us for creating the circumstances that facilitates the attitude that made them do that.

So, I’ll now be even more consciously checking where my products are from and will not be buying anything made in China or India.

Who’s with me? (YANBU)

Who’s not? And why, out of interest? (YABU)

Happy Sunday all…!

I bet the technology you're using to write this post was made in China

It's practically impossible to never use anything from China in day to day life, unless you plan on getting rid of 99% of your technology, clothes etc.

You are absolutely not being u but as the pp says, it’s virtually impossible to completely boycott Chinese products as they are used in, afaik, virtually all technology.

It’s a commendable sentiment but agree it will be difficult to boycott. I support the idea of buying less plastic tat anyway. We can all cope with far fewer possessions and ‘things’. It’s mentally freeing and better for the planet.

I totally agree, but also agree it seems impossible. Wouldn't it be great if the UK could be self sufficient, and make and grow everything we need right here?

I’m no lover of the totalitarian Chinese government, but you could argue that, with their one child policy, they have done more than any other country to reduce carbon footprint. Every child they prevented being conceived represents a saving of 54 tons CO2 equivalent.

Sorry, that should say 54 tons per year.

If you care this much about the planet just FYI having children is the worst thing you could do for it.

Assisi Garments comes from India.

You are right to be angry, but we should not punish the people of these countries because of the decisions their leaders make.

If you have a quick check of everything that’s in just 1 room of your home, you’ll find that the vast majority of the things have links to China or India. What about the car you drive? What about the products you’ll buy for your baby?
If we all stopped buying things from China, or that have components from China, what about the livelihoods of the people in China involved in their production?

Even if you can find (and afford) goods that were not produced in these countries, you can bet that components of said goods were.

The reality is that only the most wealthy can afford to truly boycott China etc.

Ideally we would be able to move away from having to import so much from China. Would make a massive difference climate wise but that’s a long way off.

I’m frustrated at the change in the deal but from the POV of those countries they are concerned about what’s right for their people now so that’s where it becomes a much bigger, tougher, balancing act.

I've been trying to avoid stuff made in China since 1989, when they killed 200+ demonstrators. It's nigh on impossible though, as so many products made elsewhere include components manufactured in China.

India has joined my list of countries to boycott since Modi has been stifling democratic opposition. I also avoid knowingly buying stuff from Turkey and Brazil.

When I was growing up, my parents never bought stuff from South Africa, because of apartheid, so political boycotting is in my blood.

Having a child is the worst thing you can do for the environment. So if you care that much, why are you having a child?

The point is not what we have now. We know we have lots of stuff that comes from China etc. The point is that we make better choices from now on.

Second hand, recycled, refurbished.

Stop clicking and waiting for crap to be delivered to your door. Go out and buy locally.

Keep whatever you already have until it breaks and you can no longer repair it.

Swap, borrow, share with friends, family, neighbours.

But start by deciding to stop hiding behind "Well, lots of what you already have comes firm China, so..."

I’m all for buying less stuff you could do without, but logically just buying stuff from UK isn’t going to save much carbon. Say you want a new laptop so all materials are shipped from All over world. So we can make circuit boards and battery's out of them. It’s still going cost the same carbon footprint, maybe tiny bit less if factory has heat pump instead of boiler or use electric van. But you are shipping raw materials over world instead. Can’t be that much in it.

Plus we stop buying goods poorer counties they can’t develop, half workforce have no jobs and have resort burning toxic rubbish to cook food because can’t afford safer options. Or have cut down a rainforest to farm cattle because no other way feed their families.

Unless you're considering off grid and off the land it won't be possible...

Your actions matter, and so do your spending habits.
Fast fashion, cheap toys, and over packaging is something we can all avoid.
Boycotting from countries that have poor environmental or human rights issues is a good idea, you may not be able to avoid it all , but some is better than none.

I think it is easy to boycott plastic tat but a lot of essential things are manufactured in china too. I could see a green tax on imports from countries based on their carbon emissions somehow helping as it would longer be cheaper and those countries might 'down' their coal even quicker then.

If we made more stuff here, we would still be importing a lot of stuff to make the things with. We dont have a lot of the raw materials. If our factories were greener that still might help but so would helping china green its factories.

But if you look at emissions per capita India and China are much further down the list? Also a great deal of their pollution is as a result of producing goods for us, China are a big manufacturer of steel for example. I always assumed the Middle East were responsible for a lot of pollution because of oil. Im putting a question mark because I really don't understand fully the whole issue, despite reading up on it.

So fully prepared to be corrected!

Even the LFTs are made in China so good luck with that. Have a look around your house and you'll be surprised how many of them are made in China , if they need replacing at any point they'll still come from China. The device you're using is either made in China, or a lot of the components are. Even lighbulbs are made in China, enjoy the darkness.

It's easy to be smug and righteous and bang on about how awful they are when the only reason we have less emissions is because we've outsourced everything.

That means you can not use any form of computer technology made in the last 20+ years, nothing with a battery inside, no white goods, more than half of all clothes. Not a single car/bus/train is made without components from China, you can never fly again, you might be able to find a bike if you really search.

The point is not what we have now. We know we have lots of stuff that comes from China etc. The point is that we make better choices from now on.

Yes, and my point is that unless you never get any new technology or clothing, it's going to be almost impossible to boycott them.

Boycotting is the preserve (imo) of families who have both the the time to shop around for second hand goods and the money to buy new goods that are made in the UK.

Most clothes that are "made in the UK" are several times the price of clothes made in China or India. Finding, for example, a laptop or phone or TV where none of the parts of manufactured in Asia is going to be impossible unless you always buy second hand - but again you can only do that if you live somewhere with decent second-hand shops and/or you can afford to take the risk if the item you've bought off eBay is poor quality and needs replacing again six months down the line.

You can certainly try to limit what you buy from India and China. I am no longer buying cheap plastic tat and shit I don’t need. Just that one act alone will be boycotting hints made in China.

I think the changing of the wording in relation to fossil fuels whilst disappointing is nevertheless essential in order to ensure there is an agreement and that both India and China feel listened to. Those countries who benefits from fossil fuels and used coal to aid their development did so as there was no understanding of the environmental damage but I suspect even if there had been they would have carried on. Both China and India are and continue to make changes to help reduce environmental damage - they are trying their best within the context they are are in. Yes we could all do more but I feel that criticising China and India who are doing less damage to what the more developed countries did in their development stage is hypocritical

India very publicly intervened to water down the language relating to coal in the agreement, and at the very last moment, so it was basically impossible to stop it.
But the idea that this makes them the 'bad guys' against other countries, the 'good guys' is a huge misunderstanding about what's been going on. There's been masses of obstructionism behind closed doors, countries like Australia have been appalling. The EU have failed to push for strong climate action in the negotiations and are in the process of giving approval to 30 new gas projects worth £13 billion. Pledges are woefully short of what is needed all round.
A huge issue has been rich countries not having delivered the finance promised to poorer countries to help them develop without reliance on fossil fuels (and what has been given is mainly as loans). They have also blocked proposals around 'loss and damage' funding, i.e. compensation for the damage caused by climate change.
Basically it's a big mess all round and the UK doesn't come out of it looking great either. Thinking about what you buy and where it has come from and avoiding throwaway stuff is great. But better to focus on lobbying companies and our own government to take real action if you want to actually influence things!