# Non-US Dopers: Is everything in your stores made in China, too? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164 "2005-10-27T15:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/1 "2005-10-27T15:59:00Z")
The thread title is the question: increasingly, outside of groceries and building supplies, it’s becoming well nigh impossible to find anything that’s still made in the United States, much less a developed country. The straw that drive me to ask this question was that all the ladders – a bulky, heavy, fairly low-cost item that would presumably be expensive to ship – in stock at Home Depot were made in China. If I went to … oh, a Carrefour store in France, would everything be made in China? How about Kmart or Bunnings Warehouse in Australia? Real in Germany? Is the “everything is made in China” phenomenon limited to the US? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/2 "2005-10-27T16:06:08Z")
Dunno about big stuff like ladders. Most of that is probably still local. However, for everything else, the answer is “yes”. It’s funny how you get nostalgic for when cheap stuff was made in Japan! ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/3 "2005-10-27T16:10:33Z")
Pretty much everything over here, too, unless you go to one of them high-end furniture places where everything’s Italian or Swedish. Generally, though, Made in China is at the lower end of the price list, as I’m sure it would be anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/4 "2005-10-27T16:12:41Z")
“Here” is Hong Kong, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/5 "2005-10-27T16:18:46Z")
Just a reminder to myself: it seems like the majority of large appliances – “white goods” – are made in the US, but there’s some European stuff at the high end, and Haier is getting into the act. Of course, lots of cars and trucks are made in the US; no Chinese vehicles on US roads yet except some scooters. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/6 "2005-10-28T04:14:42Z")
yes, but then i live in china. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/7 "2005-10-28T14:10:10Z")
I was surprised in France this summer by finding certain things that _weren’t_ made in China – like kids’ beach toys and shoes – that here in the States would definitely have been Chinese made. That said, I did see plenty of Chinese-made stuff in France – at Carrefour specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/8 "2005-10-28T14:24:50Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > The straw that drive me to ask this question was that all the ladders – a bulky, heavy, fairly low-cost item that would presumably be expensive to ship – in stock at Home Depot were made in China. That’s funny. I always assumed all ladders were made in [Lynn, Mass.](http://www.lynlad.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-is-everything-in-your-stores-made-in-china-too/328164/9 "2005-10-28T14:26:13Z")
[Related thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333719)