If promoting "Made in Finland" is racism and xenophobia...

[debonaire]

Might I also remind the OP that he drives a car made in Asia, and buys most of his clothes from ebay.de

When you have an EU built car and maintain it with EU produced spare parts and support Finnish clothes shops - then you can start preaching to the rest of us.

..edited...

[ajdias]

so as the whiners always say supporting the local economy is xenophobia and such, lets see what the current sitting multiculturalist and immigrant-friendly Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Aid, Paavo Väyrynen has to say:

Come on man, you can see that he has just learned of the power of xenophobic remarks (see a previous thread) and he is fishing for electoral votes.

“You have to pay foreign laborers the same wages as domestic ones, and immigration costs significant amounts to the government. So it should be considered producing cheaper offshore”.

And here I was thinking that at the cost of finnish language instruction plus initial settlement costs (a few thousand euros) immigrants, specially qualified labor , where a bargain compared to what society invests to raise and educate a native...
Wasn~t it hundreds of thousands to get someone through higher education (can someone dig the article from HS/english archive - it's a couple years old)?

[Pursuivant]

Väyrynen is a brainfartist...

[sinikala]

Might I also remind the OP that he drives a car made in Asia, and buys most of his clothes from ebay.de

When you have an EU built car and maintain it with EU produced spare parts and support Finnish clothes shops - then you can start preaching to the rest of us.

..edited...

What did you edit?

[debonaire]

Might I also remind the OP that he drives a car made in Asia, and buys most of his clothes from ebay.de

When you have an EU built car and maintain it with EU produced spare parts and support Finnish clothes shops - then you can start preaching to the rest of us.

..edited...

What did you edit?

I had written a post against your statement in the above context...but then i realised you intention was to blow the lid off Hank's idea of patriotism by preferring to buy domestic goods, instead of advocating people to buy EU built goods as opposed to Non-Eu products...thats why i edited my post as i didn't find it relevant in context of your intended statement

[mrjimsfc]

I've been giving this considerable thought.
If I want to buy real quality fishing lures, I buy Räpälä.
If I want to get the best compass in the world, I buy Suunto.
If I want the best filet knife in the world, I buy one made in Finland (there are several brands).
If I want the best hunting rifle in the world, I buy Sako (I have a couple of them).
In America, I have to pay a premium price for these items but eveyone just oohs and aahs about the workmanship and quality evident in these Finnish items. Please note that I have only mentioned a few! (But then I can only get a few here)
Do I have to accept something less than the best to prove that I'm not racist or xenophobic?

[sinikala]

..edited...

What did you edit?

I had written a post against your statement in the above context...but then i realised you intention was to blow the lid off Hank's idea of patriotism by preferring to buy domestic goods, instead of advocating people to buy EU built goods as opposed to Non-Eu products...thats why i edited my post as i didn't find it relevant in context of your intended statement

Ahhh. I see. Generally I agree with Hank's philosophy, I was (i) pointing out that he is not practising what he's preaching and (ii) I wanted to debunk the idea that there are many people who despise products made in Finland, and that is Hank being paranoid for a change.

Can we have a show of hands of people despising these kind of products?

but its n a t i o n a l i s m , remeber that evil thing your nan was all about before you left Bendoveristan? you know the vile habits of flying the flags on national holidays and such. I can dig you numerous examples of people hating Finland and Finnish products and the superiority of foreign products.

I don't think you can.

I'm still waiting.

Me? I try to buy domestic products when possible. This is the country that employs me, it is in my own selfish interests to put my earnings back into the economy here. And although usually more expensive, they are almost always equal or superior in quality to the foreign alternative, so quality is seldom an issue. If I cannot buy domestic, then I buy European.

My logic being a minimum threefold

(i) we need to retain manufacturing jobs in Europe - if we continue to subcontract production to Asia and rely on selling them technology, there will come a point, like there did with Japan, where we will lose the technological edge and they will no longer need us.
(ii) I prefer that my cash recirculates in the EU instead of being given away to other countries like China, this is especially important on big purchases like cars.
(iii) there is generally less energy consumed in purchasing locally made goods.

So it would have been interesting to see your comments, as your first impression was correct.

[Rosamunda]

I've been giving this considerable thought.
If I want to buy real quality fishing lures, I buy Räpälä.
If I want to get the best compass in the world, I buy Suunto.
If I want the best filet knife in the world, I buy one made in Finland (there are several brands).
If I want the best hunting rifle in the world, I buy Sako (I have a couple of them).
In America, I have to pay a premium price for these items

...I think Hank had a point here.... some of those items are actually cheaper in the USA than in Finland, even though they are made in Finland. Probably something to do with competition and retail margins and stuff like that. My SO has often confirmed this with hunting and fishing stuff.

And BTW Lumene cosmetics are IIRC cheaper in CVS (???) in the USA than in Prisma.

Not sure the same is true inside the EU (my guess is that IIttala and Marimekko etc are priced about the same throughout Europe).

Clothing is difficult. I like Ril's clothes and Palmroth shoes but it's not easy to tell whether they are actually made in Finland or not..... They used to be.... but the last time I bought a Ril's jacket it had no indication on the label.

[Pursuivant]

that is Hank being paranoid for a change.

hey I'm trippin, but I am still remembering Dusty Bin, rotten onions and a horse in every household... I have a distinct recollection someone was ranting of the racism and xenophobia of Finns and this being represented by their nationalistic flag-waving and buying foodstuffs with the Finnish flag etc.... was it doubledatsun?

[Jukka Aho]

that is Hank being paranoid for a change.

I have a distinct recollection someone was ranting of the racism and xenophobia of Finns and this being represented by their nationalistic flag-waving and buying foodstuffs with the Finnish flag etc...

The infamous HYVÄÄ SUOMESTA thread! :)



Oh, and not to forget the flag-waving thread...

But there have been others like them in the past...

[Pursuivant]

and its not being paranoid, its only all these voices in my head...

[Rob A.]

So at what point is something NOT "Made in Finland"???.....

The last significant "Finnish" product I bought is my Polar S725X heart monitor....for about $US 250 last winter... The company is based in Kempele... The design is "Finnish", all the "brain work" is "Finnish", the distribution and service policies and back-up will all be "Finnish"....but the the actual item is ..."Made in China"....

So who will share in my $US250...the Chinese workers will likely get virtually nothing; the Chinese company, probably not much more; the Finnish "knowledge workers" will be getting Finnish wages, the Finnish company will get a fair bit....and the retailer will get a big chunk....


So did I buy a "Finnish" product or not???...

[Pursuivant]

such a current topic
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Increa ... 5240583187

[Rob A.]

such a current topic
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Increa ... 5240583187

Yeah...it is a tough debate....whether in Canada, Finland or any other "developed" country.... When you are buying certain kinds of products you like to think the whole thing is made in, say, Canada, Finland, etc....yet the reality may be that most of the "value-added" is local, though the actual "manufacture" is Chinese...

I don't have an answer...and if I buy a BMW I want it to come from Munich...not North Carolina... [EDIT: ..make that South Carolina...Spartanburg...]

...and I got a laugh out of the last paragraph in the HS article:

”British tourists tend to buy various kinds of glittery items and postcards, while Finns prefer utility articles. Hopefully wooden articles will continue to grow in popularity, as employers like us are needed in the north”, Himanen concludes.

...Yes, Finland, indeed, needs more of the British "cultural enrichment"...

[Pursuivant]

When you are buying certain kinds of products you like to think the whole thing is made in, say, Canada, Finland, etc....yet the reality may be that most of the "value-added" is local, though the actual "manufacture" is Chinese...

well the tourist trade has been such since the pyramids were new... starting from manufacturing of "relics" for the pilgrims....

Mark Twain would have felt quite well at home if he visited in Lapland today