And they're trying to SELL this stuff?

Most likely done by little fingers in the east, not to be purchased in any circumstances.

Little fingers in the East might depend on that buy ... I know this is an almost ancient debate ,, If we buy this stuff they will need more and have more children or women working for them ,, but if we do not buy , Children and women will be thrown onto the streets and starve ,,, If somebosy is willing to do it , that someone needs the few cents they get ,,,,,, mirjam

It definitely puts you on the horns of a dilemma, doesn`t it?

Pat

Little fingers or not, no eyes ANYwhere inspected these items. Who do they think is going to buy this stuff?

Believe me, if you saw these pillows, there'd be no dilemma.

You Might be SURPISED , how many people will buy it , Those who can`t make things or don`t have money or energy to make their own ,,, Many who have many children , would like to have several cheap , but good looking things ,,, Are you always looking at OTHER people `s cushion covers with a looking glass ?????? shhshh secret fot you shh life is not perfect thus UNperfect objects can give joy as well mirjam

You have an interesting point regarding child labor and I guess in some very sad circumstances your theory that even money that's made by using kids is useful and can make life better for these very poor people, but $69 each isn't cheap.

Personally I wouldn't buy a poorly made object at all and certainly not an expensive, overpriced one.

Lucille

People who do not stitch.

And who want an exact color to match fit their design scheme. They're thinking, oh that pillow will look great in my room. If they notice stitches are missing they say "Oh, these pieces have so much character!" Quality has nothing to do with selling decorator pieces.

I worked in an import store for a while. It made me a cynic. Most people don't have a clue with regards to textiles. Dora

Agreed. I was following a pair of women at a craft fair one Xmas. They admired some stained glass work, it was unusual and the use of the colours was striking, but they thought it was overpriced. As we moved on a bit further we came to a display of 'plastic' stained glass, the melt and pour stuff. They were triumphant ! Buying this and that and chortling with glee that it was so much more reasonably priced !!!!

Some people can't see the difference. They really can't. However if I suspect something has been made by little fingers, I refuse to take a chance on buying it. Regardless of the need for money, little children barely allowed to go to pee working twelve hours a day will not be sponsored by me.

Sorry Lucile i have not expressed myself well enough here , i meant that people with not much momey , but who have many children, would like to buy nice but cheap[er] costing things as well. In this letter I am not commenting anything about children`s labour. I did write about Children`s labour in former note.

I am not sure what you mean by My interestin g point regarding child labour ... As children we all worked as well as going to school. Many societies and cultures require that the children do some part of the Communal work, So turning our eyes and rolling our eyes to the sky and say:" it isn`t ok and we won`t buy from factories who let children work ,," , seems a bit hypocritical. Globalization , takes many factories always to the cheaper working force ,,,,, Westerners have less children ,,, Cheaper working hands are to be found always ELSEWHERE. Your life standars , depends on getting Your wished for manufactured things in a price you can afford ,,, Companies in your area can`t supply you with products in your wanted price range With workers that are Well paid according to your standards thus they moove to where they can get workers, who will settle for Less money , worser standards of work ......That is the Reality of World Economics ,,,, Am i happy about it ,,, No ! , but I am also not Buying While Shading Aligator tears about the POOR workers who make it . Nore do i raise my nose and say i don`t buy this and that because The standard of the worker is so bad .. Hundreds thousnads of people who from their homes to OTHER countries just for Earning a bit MORE [and send money home], But not all can travel , thus they stay in their places and take those wcheap jobs` . producing things You and me and other will eventually buy ,,,,, and somewhere some person will have a Bigger Bank account , Not you nore the worker ,,, mirjam

Or the Many People who don`t really SEE it as a flaw. mirjam

Dora , you can take this Cynical mood to many more fields, many people buy things from FOOD - Wines - Furnitures without being expert about how the `Elitist Minded ` or ``purists` or what ever we call them Know/ think they know etc.... many things are bought Because they are in trend !!!! . I have come to houses , decorated lovely or breathtaking , or Awful ,,, People Buy so much stuff THEY do not need at all ,,, Maybe the Begining of stopping CHEAP Labour, will start once we teach ourself to BUY LESS , use less ,,,

Ps i have told this before , many years ago, when i hung my own appliqued [ with leftover pieces from my sewing clothes] works on the walls, and on cushion covers etc... People would ask me, if i don`t have money for real pictures, and thus hang Rags on the wall , Now same people either try to patch/quilt applique themselves, or walk in Markets, and /or Trendy shops and Hunt down old or seemingly old Cloth works , and hang them everywhere .. And Dora is right in those `old` cloths they worship every Stain [probably a result of some dirt] , as a proof of it`s authenticity. mirjam

Lucretia , not All people are alike , thus not all people need /want the same things and that is what makes our lives possible , if we all wanted the same ,,, we won`t have reached this far in history nore any other thing,,, Maybe much fewr of us would have lived in a cave and Hunt Dinozaurous.

So these women wanted something nice, decorative and within their means to makes their homes look nicer , What is bad about that. They found what they liked in a price they could afford, WONDERFUL. And to top it all, they felt they had a bargain!!!! added hapiness . Why not be happy for them. According to your note, They should have bought something YOU CONSIDER BETTER Quality, maybe if they had done your Kind of buy they would have used money out of another family or personal need...

Needs, tastes and abilities change over the years, for each of us. And they are Different from one person to the other .

As to your Suspecting what was made by whom ,, You might be surprised how many items you DAILY use , have been at some time of their manufacture benn made by, by some sort of slave like work conditions.

But if you mind so much , why not start being nicer to poor people in your country , Agree to pay MORE for artifacts manufactured in YOUR country by People who get Similar Sallaries to all other working People in Canada .. Your Standard of life MUST GO DOWN for that .. mirjam

Given the flaws I've found in designer/top brand clothing, inspection seems to be a joke.

Thanks for 'getting' my point. I had no idea this thread would erupt into a discussion of child labor etc. I was just commenting on the poor needlepoint and was surprised that it made it to market. I wouldn't display those pillows if they GAVE 'em to me. There were probably a hundred omissions in each piece.

Val , i got your point as well , but it isn`t easy to seprate the cause and reason , to this kind of merchandise ... mirjam

Very true Mirjam. Who is making the shoddy materials? Who profits from them and who buys them?

My neighbor and I have a hard time going to "craft fairs" together. Any needle or bead work gets my through scrutiny for workmanship. She looks at the woodwork the same way. At least with the food items, you usually get to taste them. C

People who don't know any better. After all, an awful lot of clothing in all prices ranges is very poorly made, but chances are the only people who really are bothered by it are people who sew and know how things should be made.