Last week I ordered on Amazon one of those big furry Russian hats from a supplier in Russia.
According to the tracking system it left Russia, entered the US via Bothell, near Seattle, made its merry way down to Los Angeles then winged across America, out over the Atlantic to arrive in my local post office.
I live in Northern Ireland, wouldn’t it have made more sense to ship it the opposite direction?
Whether or not your hat was on those planes, the planes would have been flying anyway. So, essentially it cost nothing to transport the hat.
Depends. Did it come from a farm in Siberia or Russia’s Far East? Given the country’s internal air routes and shipping practices, it might actually have been quicker to send it through the US. There might not even have been a reliable air freight service headed west from the hat’s point of origin.
Also: A lot of the fur hats marketed as “Made in Russia” actually come from China, especially those with cheaper furs like rabbit.
That’s a bit extreme but OK! 
I don’t understand economics so I’ll take your word for it, still seems strange though.
Yes, that’s a point, I don’t know what part of the country it originated in.
Don’t tell me that! 