Repost, in light of the Wal-Mart leaded bib recall:

[originalpckelly]

Here is the thread about the Wal-Mart recall:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x832250

Here is what we're going to do about it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=802424#802676

We cannot trust our own government anymore.

We the people must reclaim our economic sovereignty away from the robber barons that own this country.

We are going to show them who's boss from now on.

The demands are as follows:
1. Every single ingredient/material should have its point of origin listed.

For example, if a product contains wheat gluten from China, it would have to say that on the package. If a company can't tell us where its product's ingredients/materials come from, then we are going to refuse to purchase that product until they can find out. If the ingredients/materials in a product come from so many places it would not be feasible to list it on the packaging, then a bar code should be included on that product, to give the consumer the opportunity to scan it in the supermarket/other store(s) and find out where it came from. If that isn't feasible, some other type of code should be placed on the product so that a consumer may search an easy to use database on the internet to find the points of origin for a product's ingredients/materials. A consumer owned inspections program should verify that all the information in this database is accurate. If a company places false information in this database, then they should be subject to a civil penalty. This can be done through requiring each company that registers its products in the database to sign a contract, and by including falsifying an entry in the database as a breach of contract subject to a stiff penalty.

2. Each and every ingredient/material in a product must be tested for safety before we'll agree to buy it.

It must be tested by a consumer owned and operated lab that is only interested in protecting consumers. All final products should also be tested to determine whether or not they're safe as well. If this demand is not met, consumers will refuse to buy the product until the demand is met. A seal shall be placed on every product that complies with this demand to ensure that the consuming public knows they are buying a safe product. Any company that falsely places this seal on a non-compliant product should be subject to civil penalties for doing so. This could be done through trademarking the seal, and it would require no alterations to the law.

3. All products should be produced in sound working conditions by workers making a living wage.

A consumer owned inspections program should verify that these conditions exist. No product should be made in the absence of a consumer employed inspector. Another seal shall be placed on every product in compliance with this measure, and as before a civil penalty shall be leveled against any company that infringes on the trademark by falsely placing it on an unsafe product.

The plant to get those demands met:
We will boycott a particular brand of product(s). We will buy another brand of the same type of product. What this will do is allow us to exert great economic pressure on a particular company to meet our demands, without burdening us very much at all. How hard is it to buy another brand of product in lieu of another? Aside from proprietary designs, such a razor blades or something like that, we can always buy another brand. They can't keep us from doing that, and if they try to, then they will show themselves for the economic tyrants they really are.

[slackmaster]

1. "We cannot trust our own government anymore."

As if there was ever a time when we really could trust it.

:rofl:

[originalpckelly]

2. True, very true, but the existence of an FDA sort of suggests someone did at one time.

:rofl:

[crikkett]

10. Us amercians are too busy and fragmented.

We don't have a real motivation to band together with our neighbors to look for alternatives to Wal-Mart.

It's quite intimidating to reach out in real life - to get past the privacy fences to the people whom you've lived among for years but don't know their names.

We may have gotten as far as we'll get through individual effort.

Divided, we fell.

[originalpckelly]

11. The alternative is not to Wal-Mart. That's why my plan is so easy for people to do.

We just buy a different brand of product at Wal-Mart, while boycotting a particular brand. Now a ton of Chinese products are really not made by the company on the labeling of the package, the products are subcontracted out to manufacturers. However, we can still have an economic impact on the company that labels the products, and hence is the "brand" by boycotting one brand and not the other. The Chinese manufacturers won't go out of business, they'll just sell their services to another company, but the idea here is to force the brand name company to meet our demands.

For example:
Instead of buying an RCA DVD player, we'd buy another brand, say Philips/Magnavox.

RCA would feel a hit in their pockets, and they would eventually have to meet the demands or go out of business.

When RCA does eventually meet our demands, we'll reward the company by using it as a base to launch the rest of the boycotts from. We'll buy only RCA products, while boycotting another brand, that'll be OK because RCA would then have to produce products that meet our demands.

As the field of companies we can buy from safely grows, the more power we'll have and the more choice we'll have as consumers.

This technique can be applied to lots of different companies, so long as they don't have an absolute monopoly on products. Monopolies will have to be busted, and I even have a plan to do that through consumer boycotts as well, but that I'll save for a later time.

[Deja Q]

3. Sweet Jesus. How come the party that spouts off "culture of life" allows this?!

Meaning allowing infant/toddler gear to contain lead, amongst every other related atrocity?

The more this stuff happens, the more they prove themselves false when they claim to be pro-life.

They are currently not a culture of life; they are not pro-family, they are not pro-life (separate from the war and death issue; I mean quality of life. If lead is known to cause birth and developmental defects, that alone is enough to create one big-ass lawsuit that has nothing to do with 'tort reform'.)

K&R.

[Nikki Stone1]

4. Because it's not about life, it's about control of women.

That's really all it is.

[originalpckelly]

6. They are pro-life. Oh excuse me, I meant to say they should all do life.

Big difference. Yep, I'd be pro-life for these bastards. You can't poison kids and get away with this. It's the second time shit from China sold at Wal-Mart has tested positive for lead. They are obviously not doing anything to stop it, and just don't give a flying fuck. That means we have to make them give a flying fuck. We can do that with the boycott plan I outlined.

[1776Forever]

5. Yet another China Debacle - We have to speak up!

(Posted in another DU post on this - wanted to make sure everyone saw it that can)

Another health risk to our people in the U.S. who have for years fought to have good quality products and safety for our citizens! We are outsourcing our very quality of life away! Let alone the future of our children! When will the idiots in Government wake up!! Just today New York Times reported on medication made in China that killed children in Panama! And the rich get richer while the country is pissed away!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/world/americas/06pois...

Read the following on this company that outsourced there product manufacturing to China!

http://www.crowncrafts.com/about.html

Crown Crafts, Inc. Company Overview:

Crown Crafts, Inc., a Georgia corporation founded in 1957, operates indirectly through its subsidiaries in the Infant Products segment within the Consumer Products industry. In response to changing business conditions in the consumer products industry, the Company made significant changes in its business operations. In addition to a program of cost reductions and rationalization, the Company outsourced virtually all of its manufacturing to domestic and foreign contract manufacturers with the exception of the specialty hand wovens produced by Churchill Weavers. The Woven Products division, with manufacturing primarily in north Georgia, was sold on November 14, 2000 and net proceeds of $32.3 million were used to reduce debt. Following the outsourcing of adult bedding, the Roxboro, North Carolina plant was sold on June 14, 2001 and the proceeds of $8.0 million were used to reduce debt. Also, the Company made a decision to exit the Adult Bedding and Bath Business, and its net assets related to that business of $12.4 million were sold effective July 23, 2001. Proceeds of the sale were $8.5 million cash plus the assumption of liabilities of $3.4 million as well as the assumption of certain contingent liabilities. Cash from the sale was used to reduce debt. Following the sale of the Adult Bedding and Bath business, the Company is now primarily in the infant and juvenile products business.
:banghead:

[originalpckelly]

7. Thanks for posting this. I'm glad someone else gives a damn!

:grr: I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take anymore!

[Somawas]

12. They probably outsourced the manufacturing to China

because there was no other way they could make the stuff and make a profit at the price Wal-Mart was willing to pay them. And as long as the consumer demands their stuff cheap, they'll get corner cutting.

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Yeah Baby! 'Free' Trade Totally RULEZ!!!

I'm so glad that two of the three Democratic presidential front runners voted for, or were strongly in favor of, permanent 'free' trade staus for China.

So friggin' awesome!

[originalpckelly]

9. This isn't free trade. It's trade tyranny passed off as free trade.

It might be nice if we have a free market, but the one we have right now is being ruled and dictated by an elite few.

They've bought off the DLC and the RNC. These folks are quite frankly evil.

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. In light of everything, is it time to ask again if microwave plastic causes

cancer? Snopes claims that government testing does indeed confirm that there is some leaching occurring, but that what is leaching is safe to humans. Okay, I'm paraphrasing.

[originalpckelly]

14. Quite frankly, I don't trust anyone in our government...

I wouldn't even fully trust the consumer owned and operated safety system that I propose, but I'd trust it more than a government full of Republicans.