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In 2001, China and Taiwan together accounted for 85% of
the $1billion of bicycles and parts imported into the US.
62% of imported bicycles and parts come from China.1
Serious concerns about humans rights and environmental
responsibility in Asia are justifiable. “Respiratory
diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of
death in China. Almost all of the nation’s rivers are
considered polluted to some degree, and half of the population
lacks access to clean water.“2
The decision makers at bike companies whose design and marketing
is based in the US, but whose manufacturing is based in China,
Taiwan and elsewhere can and will shape policies and practices,
including the treatment of their workers and the environmental
practices of their factories. The influence of foreign industry
in Asian countries is very real.
Some companies think that you will confuse “designed
and tested in USA” plus a little clever wording with
“Made in the USA”. We don’t think that you
are so gullible. If it doesn’t say “Made in the
USA”, it wasn’t. This is not to say that you should
only buy American made products, that would be unreasonable,
nearly impossible and totally unnecessary. But look beyond
the marketing and catalogs. Full knowledge of where and how
a thing is made, by whom and under what conditions, that is
the requirement of the responsible enlightened consumer.
For many Asian manufacturers, fair treatment of their workforce
is a big deal. There are many Asian factories that treat their
employees well. They work in clean, dignified environments
with sophisticated equipment, they are well paid and cared
for with good benefits and training. However, this is not
the norm, nor is it common. Since the governments of most
Asian countries have not yet developed far reaching worker’s
rights laws or environmental pollution laws and meaningful
enforcement (Japan is an obvious exception), the decision
to be a decent and dignified employer is left up to the managers
of the factories (Asian factories) and their customers (the
bike companies). This makes it incredibly difficult to know
whether you are buying a product made by a 12 year old boy
working 70 hour weeks under a bare light bulb with no safety
equipment or training, or by a 40 year old, trained professional
working in a clean factory. Especially difficult if the company
has a polished “Americanized” image. Most companies
will go to some lengths to mislead the consumer into thinking
that their product is of US manufacture. Watch carefully for
“designed and tested in the USA” and “assembled
in the USA”, that doesn’t mean it was made in a
sweat shop, but it does mean that it wasn’t made in America.
To further confuse the issue, a company could put a “made
in the USA” decal on a bike frame that was made in China
but painted in the US.
As potential consumers of those companies’ products,
it becomes your responsibility to ask and be informed about
the labor management and environmental practices involved
in the manufacture of your bike part or frame. In many cases,
the outlook is good. Some Asian manufacturing companies pay
careful attention to health and work safety issues, training
and wages. But there will always be those that will do anything
to maximize a profit. Expressing your concerns about fair
and responsible manufacturing to your favorite bike company
is the best way to promote positive change in Asia.
The governments and trade unions of China, Taiwan and other
emerging economies are competing among themselves -- and they
are themselves partially responsible for the decline in wages
and labor standards among their own workers. Countries bent
on economic growth through export markets are pursuing policies
that foster the rapid and unregulated building of foreign-invested
factories. As a result these countries have gained millions
of new jobs in their export industries.
However, more jobs have not necessarily lead to higher wages
or rising labor standards for workers in these export industries.
In many areas, wages have fallen, and working conditions have
worsened as a result of intensified competition (to demonstrate
lower labor and operational costs) in order to attract new
factories that produce goods to sell in the US markets. Bicycle
parts and frames are certainly among them.
Many US companies have been taking advantage of this discount
labor pool and loose environmental and safety regulations,
and in turn, passed the savings to you the consumer. They
are also passing the buck, saying the US domestic labor pool’s
output can not meet the ravenous demands of the American consumer.
Or that they simply can’t compete in the bike market
without taking advantage of the savings that Asian manufacturing
offers them. It is a circular argument and it leads back to
some simple questions: What is the true cost of making something
with the economic, social and environmental costs included?
Are consumers willing to face the facts about why that Taiwanese
or Chinese part is so much cheaper than the US made one? If
everybody is absolutely intent on making things as cheaply
as possible, and the consumer buying the product doesn’t
care about the economic, social and environmental costs of
making things in poorly run factories, then we are doomed
to continue this ridiculous charade.
1. www.ita.doc.gov/td/ocg/imp37511.htm: Top 24 US Import
Sources for Bicycles and Parts.
2. Source: www.state.gov
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