The Globe and Mail reports on gated communities in China, not for the rich but for the poor. Gated not to protect the inhabitants but to impoverish the workers. When non-Chinese companies have to compete on an un-even playing field, it drives all labor to this level. Gated villages in China have for years been […]

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This is not yet general business press or US mainstream media but that it is at least in published book form indicates we are going down the road to open the world’s eyes as to what China is doing to the rest of the world. From Asia Times – Poorly Made in China by Paul […]

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As this economist notes, the New York Times is missing it but the business community is not. Last November, China issued directives that required companies to shift their research and development AND patents to China in order to do business there. Chinese trade manipulations go way beyond just currency manipulations They are practicing the mercantilist […]

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New York Times reports: BEIJING — Local officials in Shandong Province have apparently found a cost-effective way to deal with gadflies, whistle-blowers and all manner of muckraking citizens who dare to challenge the authorities: dispatch them to the local psychiatric hospital. In an investigative report published Monday by a state-owned newspaper, public security officials in […]

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In the movie Casablanca, the police captain announces that he’s “Shocked to find there’s gambling going on in Rick’s American Cafe” just as he receives his gambling winnings. This is the first thought that comes to mind as Forbes reports that companies are “shocked” to find that much of their foreign made products used underage […]

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Just as China is trying to get the word out about how they’re trying to implement reform in their product and food safety, still very superficial, come reports of companies attacking labor activists. The 34-year-old labor activist was stabbed repeatedly by knife-wielding thugs, one in a series of attacks that experts and workers’ rights advocates […]

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Its to Gap Co. credit that they convened a meeting of their Indian suppliers but it was after a British newspaper reported violations of child labor laws by these suppliers making Gap clothes. The Observer quoted the children as saying they had been sold to the sweatshop by their families in Indian states such as […]

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Lets open up the discussion to try to address this. What should we mean by saying something is a “World Safe” product? Some major themes come to mind: Production processes Sustainability Environmental Impact Labor Now this is going to very quickly get thorny. In France it is illegal to require more than a 35-hour work […]

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Identify “bad” Chinese products. Identify “good” Chinese products. The site (and the name) need to allow room to grow-frequently in a positive direction. Already we are seeing the first rumblings of a much broader approach. Product safety, good companies, good practices, fair practices, world-wide.

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