Are your actions aligned with your beliefs?

Well we stopped shopping walmart thats for sure! as for dog food am in hopes that iam getting it from America.

Yeah, I guess I buy too much processed food, sometimes my meat is 'factory, though I try to get organic when I can, we use too much energy,etc. I've slowly made some changes, but we're not all the way there...

I am a good example of people who like quality goods but go for those china reject goods which are dirt cheap but no quality at all. Our country has become one of China's dumping ground for their cheap, unsold non quality products.

I had rather buy everything made in the u.s.a. but it's almost impossible to do here. I live in a small town & wal-mart is about the only place u have to shop other than a dollor store.

I am : I try to buy only sustainable products, and I know that I don't do it every time. I signed and will sign all petitions against ill-treatment of animals, and I'm still eating foie gras. Nobody is perfect.

I do not like Walmart for a few reasons. The cheap goods, the pressure they have placed on suppliers to lower their prices to what Walmart wants to pay for them, the fact they end up pushing out the mom and pop stores in the areas the Walmart is placed. However, because of economic reasons, their prices cannot be beat in many items so I do shop there frequently. All the gift cards I get online from my programs are for Walmart.

Ideally, our actions should be aligned with our beliefs. But sometimes they are not, which I think is simply due to the fact that we are imperfect people who sometimes don't live up to our own ideals. I still think that we need to keep high ideals regardless.

I think your friend’s behavoiur is a typical reflection of the contradiction between our compulsions and our choices. I think its becoming a global phenomenon that most of us are against cheap mass-produced Chinese produce…not only are these poor in quality with no guarantee whatsoever, they are slowly but steadily killing the indigenous industry. Now quality does not come cheap and one cant expect cheap products to be good in endurance…all this is fine but then comes the economics of it all. In these tough times can we really afford to stick by our own industry even at our personal cost. Suppose I’m buying a toy for my growing child and I know the longevity of the toy will be as it is a few months max…if I have the option I’ll definitely buy the cheaper version than the home-made more expensive one. Recession and devaluation of money compels me to go for cheaper options though in my heart I may chose to be with my country. Similarly, practical situations dictate how true we can remain to our beliefs…its very very hard and sometimes foolhardy too.

Hi pola, unfortunately I'm not in a position financially now to even look at anything but the cheapest. I know this is not good, and if, and when my situation changes changes, so will my buying habits. Having said that, it is almost impossible in Australia to buy a souviner that isn't made in China. Now I think that is disgusting.

I support ban on poly-bags... but I would rather get one instead of carrying goods in my hands. The government here has imposed a ban, still almost no one keeps paper bags. Not much choice! I won't tell of others, me is enough!

As far as the idea of buying any product from China, whether cheapie stuff like in a dollar store or a major store like Walmart, the one problem? Just TRY and find anything made in the US...I mean when was the last time you even saw Made in USA for a simple thing for a light bulb? I might be a little contradictory myself. You know me and what a fierce animal lover I am and activist, I abhor fur and wouldn't even wear faux fur as it's been shown that faux fur isn't necessarily "faux"--yet, I do wear leather/suede and since I do Native American themed crafts I often use suede--so yes guess I'm out of alignment with my beliefs there

You're describing me, to a certain extent. In the past year I've tried to buy American and also buy humanely treated animal products. That is very difficult, especially the animal products. I don't like the hormones and stuff used in the animals and I try to buy only free range meat but it's very expensive. As for American goods, they are rather hard to find and much more expensive than foreign goods. I'm on a fixed income and I can't afford to practice what I belief too much economically.

Yes, many. Today we wanted to buy two dog beds and we looked them over and my husband said, whoa! one is made in China and the other in the US. We bought US made! I don't think we are out of alignment if we pay attention to our products. I go to WalMart but check labels.

Hi polachicago, I think at times, we all compromise somewhere. We'd might simply look odd if we followed our beliefs to that extent. Yes, it does seem as if the person is contradicting her own statements. But then, if she had goods made in the US available at same cost, she would have given preference to them! It is her budget possibly that is her concern here. I think it is our necessities that determine to what extent we are likely to compromise at any point of time.

I know 100s of my co-workers and maybe millions more around the world believe that they are worth than they get paid for but continue on working anyways some even stays for 10 years or more. Actually I'm one of these people but I believe change is in the horizon.