Chinese "Junk"

[Two Types]

There's your business opportunity.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Believe me, I've been thinking along those lines!

 

[Edward]

If I could get a decent, buttoned undershirt, in short or long sleeves for that, I'm in. I'll pledge to a Kickstarter!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Amazingly they're not even available to order online direct from HK, or at least not from what I've seen. The pinkish-brown henley shirts are amazing. pure vintage styling in heavyweight cloth. LKM have never changed their designs or patterns.

 

[herringbonekid]

I wish a western company would make underwear of the quality offered by Lee Kung Man Knitting Factory.

Merz b Schwanen do, but their stuff is 'designer' priced:

http://www.stuartslondon.com/merz-b-schwanen-m170

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Nice. I like their two-tone button fronts. But yes, a bit pricey for underwear.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Slave labor.
That is all. Carry on.

There's a lot of truth in this statement as I have likened it to the same thing. Slave/cheap labor has been the foundation of American capitalism. American slaves were used as stepping stones to prosperity to the elite now its American workers, of all races, who no longer have those jobs that are the ones being screwed. This is why you have to be careful of the institutions that you support because you never know when it may do a u turn and come back to bite you in the behind after it has finished screwing over those that you think may deserve it

 

[vitanola]

Amazingly they're not even available to order online direct from HK, or at least not from what I've seen. The pinkish-brown henley shirts are amazing. pure vintage styling in heavyweight cloth. LKM have never changed their designs or patterns.

Looks good. Does the firm also offer a quality Union Suit? The current Chinese production stuff offered over here in the 'states doesn't hold up in the wash, and is expensive ($30.00) given its poor quality.

 

[Edward]

Amazingly they're not even available to order online direct from HK, or at least not from what I've seen. The pinkish-brown henley shirts are amazing. pure vintage styling in heavyweight cloth. LKM have never changed their designs or patterns.

Srsly, you have to look seriously at importing these. What did you say they are, a tenner? If you could do them for that you'd seriously undercut all the repro stuff out there. How are they with shorts? I'd love to switch to something more oldschool, but anything Il ike the look of here is far too expensive to experiment with. Hell, I'd end up wearing them over my trews at what they want to charge...

Merz b Schwanen do, but their stuff is 'designer' priced:

http://www.stuartslondon.com/merz-b-schwanen-m170

Ouch, and then some. Who in the blue blazes has eight squid to drop on a vest??

(I do really like the look of them, mind. The red one especially, which surprises me.)

 

[bburtner@moran]

You can not escape the Chinese invasion!!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

They desparately tried to escape ours, 150 some years ago. We won with the clever stratagem of flooding the country with opium because we refused to use silver pay for our tea.

A people doesn't forget such things in a hurry, so when they get their own back we can't really complain too much. The Japanese have more to worry about in the short term, though, given their early 1900s brutality.

 

[Dragon Soldier]

They desparately tried to escape ours, 150 some years ago. We won with the clever stratagem of flooding the country with opium because we refused to use silver pay for our tea.

A people doesn't forget such things in a hurry, so when they get their own back we can't really complain too much. The Japanese have more to worry about in the short term, though, given their early 1900s brutality.

One of the very last chats I had with my old history lecturer was on the subject of whether or not the Asian ascendency would be kinder to the west than we had been to them.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

And what was the conclusion?

 

[Dragon Soldier]

And what was the conclusion?

That they would be rather more benevolent if we play our cards right in the interim.

Or rather more plainly, anyone who cheeses off the Chinese in the near/medium future is going to have a very hard time indeed in the longer term.

 

[TallErik]

I've actually started working on a plan to do a year without buying anything made in China. I've been moving in that direction, and while tough, it is doable.

I work in an industry where precision and longevity are key requirements, and I've seen devices that are supposed to last decades, which have started failing in only hundreds of hours. I've also seen too many local companies whose products are reverse engineered (ie. blatantly ripped off) and sold as the same quality, at a lower price. Of course, this is poppycock. The copied product is no where near the quality, but since many of the local companies are small, they don't have the resources to fight what is effectively the Chinese government.

 

[Dragon Soldier]

I've actually started working on a plan to do a year without buying anything made in China. I've been moving in that direction, and while tough, it is doable.

I work in an industry where precision and longevity are key requirements, and I've seen devices that are supposed to last decades, which have started failing in only hundreds of hours. I've also seen too many local companies whose products are reverse engineered (ie. blatantly ripped off) and sold as the same quality, at a lower price. Of course, this is poppycock. The copied product is no where near the quality, but since many of the local companies are small, they don't have the resources to fight what is effectively the Chinese government.

Do you have to avoid buying anything electronic?

 

[TallErik]

Do you have to avoid buying anything electronic?

Anything!!!

 

[Dragon Soldier]

Does anyone else in the world still manufacture semiconductors?

 

[TallErik]

Does anyone else in the world still manufacture semiconductors?

Taiwan. Korea.

 

[Dragon Soldier]

Taiwan. Korea.

Presumably at a premium?

Otherwise I'm at a loss to see why the western defence industry in particular doesn't buy, at least "allied" components.