“There is a website called www.buycanadianfirst.ca - co-founded by Isabelle Remy of Montreal. I have no commercial interest in her business but I do support her when I can.”
I thought, I should take a visit to the buycanadianfirst website. I did.
I read the following:
“Why buy Canadian first?”
“It used to be that as consumers we didn’t think twice about the long term effects of our shopping habits on the communities we live in. We became addicted to low-cost products made abroad and got hooked on accumulating quantity over quality. Products that used to be built to last are now built to be disposed of, making them seem “cheaper” at first glance. This is known as planned obsolescence (you can learn about it on The Story of Stuff).”
If you haven’t heard the story of stuff, go now. I’ll wait.
Now, back to buycanadianfirst. I also read the following:
“Then, something worrisome started to happen: Canadian manufacturing jobs were disappearing at an alarming rate. Between 2003 and the Spring of 2008 for example, Canada lost 350,000 manufacturing jobs. And sadly, things have not improved since then. But the silver lining is that in the couple of years, our country has seen the emergence of a grassroots movement towards buying more locally-made products. It seems the pendulum has gone as far as it can in the outsourcing direction, and companies are striving for more balance and better quality control all over again.”
The site listed a lot of other info as well, and it made for an interesting read.
["I'm happy to report we make bird seed down the road": photo GH]
For example, you could read about the top 6 reasons why we should be buying Canadian:
E.g., 1. The economy
“When we buy Canadian, we directly impact our economy in positive ways...”
Please click here to read more.
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Read more Made in Canada here.
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3 comments:
Thanks Gord - I emailed Isabelle with a link to your post - Dollarama is also a great place to find Canadian made goods - The reason for this is in their business model where manufacturers located near their main distribution centre(Quebec)can offer better pricing with the shipping costs stripped out and enjoy the advantages of volume.
There is a good book by Jeff Rubin - A Canadian economist called - Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller - The recession caused a temporary set back in his prediction but the high energy prices pre-recession gave us a taste of what the future will be like and it is not all bad if we can keep local manufacturers alive until then. - Cheers - Mit
excellent information, mit. My impression of Dollarama has improved since a few years ago when I saw every box on a skid in side the store with Made in China stamped on the side.
I'll look for Rubin's book after I finish Moral Ground (essays re the state of our environmental problems) and 'song for the blue ocean', another excellent read re fish stocks around the world. both excellent reads.
GH
Thanks for the mention guys. Buying Canadian is really everyone's business so let's keep passing the word! Isabelle
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