Sometimes we can learn the most important things about our world by attending to the smallest things, things that seem absolutely trivial and inconsequential such as mardi gras beads.  Pick 5 of the bullet points to address for your blog and be sure to reference the documentary Mardi Gras Made in China and our first readings in Goldstein’s Low Wage Capitalism:

• What are your personal assumptions about “Made in China”?
  

When I hear “made in china”, I think “cheap”, “possibly contains high amounts of lead” “too expensive to make in the US” and “not worth making well”

• What is globalization, and how does it impact product manufacture and sales?
  

As stated in the Goldstein readings, globalization means that companies are always searching for the cheapest place to outsource their labor to. This creates a never-ending wild goose chase to find who will work for the smallest amount.

• Why do more and more U.S. companies manufacture and source products overseas, and why do U.S. consumers purchase these products?
    It is cheaper to manufacture goods overseas than it is to manufacture them in the US. The cost of living, taxes, and other employment restrictions (minimum wage) are constantly going up in the US, so hiring US employees gets too expensive. By outsourcing the work, many of those costs are eliminated. US consumers continue to purchase these products because they either don't want to pay the high prices for Made-In-USA goods, or there is no Made-In-USA equivalent of the product they want to buy.
  
  
• What are the working conditions at foreign factories producing goods for the U.S. market?
   Usually very poor. The conditions of foreign factories often reflect those of “Company Towns” in the US in the 20th Century, but quality of life is much, much lower.
  
  
• Why do factory workers in foreign factories work under the current conditions? 
  There is often no other choice. The workers have families they need to take care of, and this work, though dangerous and dull, provides the most consistent income. As shown in the Mardi Gras: Made in China video, the workers there have a very consistent work schedule.
  
  
• How are artifacts/products embedded with social and cultural meaning? How and why does a product become disposable?
  A product is seen as disposable if it is cheaply made (thus cheap to buy) and would be too redundant to keep to re-use. These are usually utilitarian objects that are considered “useless” after being used.
  
   http://www.businessinsider.com/better-think-twice-before-throwing-away-these-products-2012-3