trymer
Joined: November 2018
Posts: 2,543 
|
Post by trymer on Nov 5, 2024 12:58:55 GMT
Do you ? should you ?
I can imagine a few on here try not to buy British and some probably just buy the cheapest option and dont worry about where the item is made/produced, but is there a reason why anyone does buy British goods ?
I buy British meat,eggs,veg and fruit if available because i prefer the taste,I like the idea of supporting local farmers and because transporting food around Europe (or even further afield ) seems ridiculous as it increases traffic congestion and pollution.
I like British made shoes and boots,top quality and traditionally made ,also I like British made clothing,there is a company called Community Clothing that produce British made clothing at reasonable prices, again i like the idea of keeping British workers in a job and not exploiting low paid workers in Asia,plus theres the transport/pollution issues.
Sadly I cant justify buying a Morgan car or I would, there are many items that just arent made here any more so there is no choice but to buy made in China unfortunately .
One sneaky thing that some British companies do is have a factory in India/China so that they can exploit their British name but make their goods on the cheap ! some have 2 ranges 'made in England' and a slightly cheaper (but poorer quality) made in China/India/Vietnam range,it pays to do some research.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nobbygas on Nov 5, 2024 13:12:26 GMT
Do you ? should you ? I can imagine a few on here try not to buy British and some probably just buy the cheapest option and dont worry about where the item is made/produced, but is there a reason why anyone does buy British goods ? I buy British meat,eggs,veg and fruit if available because i prefer the taste,I like the idea of supporting local farmers and because transporting food around Europe (or even further afield ) seems ridiculous as it increases traffic congestion and pollution. I like British made shoes and boots,top quality and traditionally made ,also I like British made clothing,there is a company called Community Clothing that produce British made clothing at reasonable prices, again i like the idea of keeping British workers in a job and not exploiting low paid workers in Asia,plus theres the transport/pollution issues. Sadly I cant justify buying a Morgan car or I would, there are many items that just arent made here any more so there is no choice but to buy made in China unfortunately . One sneaky thing that some British companies do is have a factory in India/China so that they can exploit their British name but make their goods on the cheap ! some have 2 ranges 'made in England' and a slightly cheaper (but poorer quality) made in China/India/Vietnam range,it pays to do some research. It's a minefield to try and navigate. I bought a new bike in Germany a couple of years ago. It had "Made in Germany" stickers all over the bike and advertising. However, when you took a good look, nearly all of the components were made in China. The bike itself was assembled in Germany, which is why they could get away with the Made in Germany nonsense. Also, the Chinese make heavy use of British company address's. You may think you are buying from a British company with a British address, but the reality is that it comes from China. |
|
trymer
Joined: November 2018
Posts: 2,543
|
Post by trymer on Nov 5, 2024 16:01:29 GMT
Do you ? should you ? I can imagine a few on here try not to buy British and some probably just buy the cheapest option and dont worry about where the item is made/produced, but is there a reason why anyone does buy British goods ? I buy British meat,eggs,veg and fruit if available because i prefer the taste,I like the idea of supporting local farmers and because transporting food around Europe (or even further afield ) seems ridiculous as it increases traffic congestion and pollution. I like British made shoes and boots,top quality and traditionally made ,also I like British made clothing,there is a company called Community Clothing that produce British made clothing at reasonable prices, again i like the idea of keeping British workers in a job and not exploiting low paid workers in Asia,plus theres the transport/pollution issues. Sadly I cant justify buying a Morgan car or I would, there are many items that just arent made here any more so there is no choice but to buy made in China unfortunately . One sneaky thing that some British companies do is have a factory in India/China so that they can exploit their British name but make their goods on the cheap ! some have 2 ranges 'made in England' and a slightly cheaper (but poorer quality) made in China/India/Vietnam range,it pays to do some research. It's a minefield to try and navigate. I bought a new bike in Germany a couple of years ago. It had "Made in Germany" stickers all over the bike and advertising. However, when you took a good look, nearly all of the components were made in China. The bike itself was assembled in Germany, which is why they could get away with the Made in Germany nonsense. Also, the Chinese make heavy use of British company address's. You may think you are buying from a British company with a British address, but the reality is that it comes from China. I thought that the EU would have clamped down on the 'made in wherever' BS years ago, Loake and Grenson do the same thing with shoes,some are made in their factories in India but sewn together here so 'made in England' its not good and their reputations have suffered because of it. Adidas trainers are made in Vietnam,when they made a batch of 'Hamburgs' in Germany a few years ago they sold out on pre order,they go on Ebay for £300/400 now so people do value items not made in Asia. My Swedish relatives are outdoor people and still like Fjallraven but "but its so expensive in Sweden"..me,"yes a pity that you dont live in Vietnam then you could buy it in the factory shop where its made". |
|
|
|
Post by lostinspace on Nov 5, 2024 17:04:41 GMT
Bought two pairs of Clarks shoes/ boots this weekend,made in India, there used to be a Clarks factory in Shepton Mallet,Radstock,Weston super mare, Plymouth and 2 maybe 3 in Street ( home of the company,and HQ is still there) went to Portugal many moons ago,just after they had joined the EU, and there was a Clarks factory there, mentioned this to a guy who was well up in administration/ management and he literally tried to diss this news until I showed him a photo of the place!!
|
|
oldie
Joined: September 2021
Posts: 7,516
|
Post by oldie on Nov 5, 2024 20:56:23 GMT
I buy British where I can. Having a bit of "thing" for quality footwear a couple of years ago I stumbled upon this company... lanxshoes.com/collections/mens-footwearHigh quality footwear made in England and clearly labelled when not. Their best products feature leather from this historical tannery in Leeds. Their boots are outstanding. www.cfstead.com/ |
|
Cheshiregas
Global Moderator
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 2,978
|
Post by Cheshiregas on Nov 7, 2024 13:55:32 GMT
I have just had my telephone line changed from analogue to digital.
I was talking with the Openreach engineer about the mobile backup system and how poor the signal is in our area such that the back up line is next to useless.
He said that mobile signal quality has deteriorated as much of the Huawei [remember the concern about Chinese spy systems] kit has been replaced with British and the quality is not as good.
Not something that would have been thought of 20/30 years ago.
|
|
trymer
Joined: November 2018
Posts: 2,543
|
Post by trymer on Nov 7, 2024 20:09:24 GMT
I buy British where I can. Having a bit of "thing" for quality footwear a couple of years ago I stumbled upon this company... lanxshoes.com/collections/mens-footwearHigh quality footwear made in England and clearly labelled when not. Their best products feature leather from this historical tannery in Leeds. Their boots are outstanding. www.cfstead.com/Yes I share the quality footwear 'thing' I am even on the 'mugs list' of companies like Trickers and Crockett & Jones etc ,they send me e'mails of their offers,C&J recently told me that they needed one more person to join a group order for their Islay boots in cordovan...thankfully I didnt like their chosen soles. A friend asked me recently how many pairs of shoes/boots I needed,I told him that i passed the level of 'need' 20 plus years ago,since then its just been down to want....or obsession. |
|
trymer
Joined: November 2018
Posts: 2,543
|
Post by trymer on Nov 7, 2024 20:19:25 GMT
I have just had my telephone line changed from analogue to digital. I was talking with the Openreach engineer about the mobile backup system and how poor the signal is in our area such that the back up line is next to useless. He said that mobile signal quality has deteriorated as much of the Huawei [remember the concern about Chinese spy systems] kit has been replaced with British and the quality is not as good. Not something that would have been thought of 20/30 years ago. The problem is that British firms dont keep up with development,it was the same with motorbikes and cars, much better at traditionally made things like shoes but even quality shoe and clothes firms have closed because the management has been so poor,I remember years ago that programme 'the Troubleshooter' was quite interesting. Sometimes small companies that are going down the drain because they cant compete with cheap imports come up with ideas that play to their strengths like heritage and quality,William Lennon boots is an example,making boots with old fashioned traditional tools and methods but offering lots of alternatives in colours and different types of leathers so you get a bespoke product. |
|
oldie
Joined: September 2021
Posts: 7,516
|
Post by oldie on Nov 7, 2024 20:36:02 GMT
I buy British where I can. Having a bit of "thing" for quality footwear a couple of years ago I stumbled upon this company... lanxshoes.com/collections/mens-footwearHigh quality footwear made in England and clearly labelled when not. Their best products feature leather from this historical tannery in Leeds. Their boots are outstanding. www.cfstead.com/Yes I share the quality footwear 'thing' I am even on the 'mugs list' of companies like Trickers and Crockett & Jones etc ,they send me e'mails of their offers,C&J recently told me that they needed one more person to join a group order for their Islay boots in cordovan...thankfully I didnt like their chosen soles. A friend asked me recently how many pairs of shoes/boots I needed,I told him that i passed the level of 'need' 20 plus years ago,since then its just been down to want....or obsession. Totally recognise that👍 |
|
