The Wall Street Journal has a long article on how the Dutch managed to overhaul their health insurance system and pointed out features that could work well in the US. While the article accurately identifies those aspects of the Dutch system that do work, what it does not mention is the perception among many Dutch people that healthcare in Belgium is better. I know people who have had treatment in Belgian hospitals who tell me that the doctors and nurses are so much more patient-friendly, that the care isn’t indifferent and on the whole, the experience is better. Having a good workable and affordable health insurance system is valuable, but having good, patient-friendly hospitals is the most important of all. Apparently, a lot of non-Belgians go to Belgian hospitals.

The Guardian UK has an article today on how British high street clothing chains are using factories abroad that exploit workers and endanger their health:

Two of Britain’s major high street retailers launched inquiries last night into allegations that factory workers who make their clothes in India are being paid as little as 13p per hour for a 48-hour week, wages so low the workers claim they sometimes have to rely on government food parcels.

Among the brands named in this latest scandal are Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, H&M and the Gap. The mostly female workforce of the companies supplying clothing to these brands pay their workers as low as  £1.13 for a nine-hour day and they are harassed by male supervisors. Working conditions are grim:

Another tailor who makes clothes for H&M, said that when she could not achieve her production targets, the clothes were thrown in her face. She said up to 15 workers a day collapsed and had to be given medical attention. Workers and unions claim the conditions in the factories led to two tragic incidents this year.

One woman committed suicide, another lost her baby. Suddenly, cheap trendy clothes don’t seem so cheap or trendy anymore. Now wonder they have to run massive ad campaigns featuring super models (Kate Moss at Top Shop) and entertainers (Madonna and Kylie Minogue at H&M). They hope the glitter and gloss will distract us from the misery behind it all, not to mention the shoddy quality of the clothes and the gigantic amount of waste that goes along with it: mountains of clothing thrown away each year by women who shop to replace the cheap, ill-fitting, formerly trendy design items they bought the week before.

Read the rest of the article here.

China bashing is very popular these days and the mainstream media know it. Yesterday, I read an article about California banning ginger imported from China because they use illegal pesticides. Today the toy industry gets its turn in the spotlight with an article on shoddy Chinese toys but at least this one focuses the blame on the toy companies’ failure to monitor quality. Read this thread on the Consumerist about toys containing lead. China is not the only source of junk like this and the focus on China is unfair.

The European Union has strict food laws, but it has seen a lot of food scandals. Has everyone forgotten about the dioxin chickens from Belgium only a few years ago? What about the dangers of beef? BSE anyone? Suddenly that disappeared from the news.

There’s never been a time when the food supply or the goods being sold were 100% safe. Never. It’s much more difficult to monitor and regulate the food supply today because of globalization. Our food, toys, clothes, computers, phones, furniture and nearly everything we buy comes not just from another country but from different countries (think of components of a phone made in different places). It is impossible for one regulatory agency to monitor all that.

With regard to food, why not try to eat locally grown produce? Everyone’s into being green these days. Transporting food thousands of miles to your grocery is hardly green. Of course, there is no guarantee that your local produce has not been sprayed with illegal pesticides, but it’s much easier to monitor locally grown food. But even that’s not 100% safe. E-coli bacteria was found in Northern California spinach just a few months ago.

For entrepreneurs who source their goods from different places, the burden of monitoring quality and labor conditions (you don’t want your products associated with slave labor) is very high. Many complain, “We can’t afford it.” But I say: can you afford NOT to?