This is a fascinating discussion from the perspective of an American who is living in Canada.

Edmonton seems to be dominated by big box stores -- I really have to go out of my way to spend money at a place that is locally owned and run. And since it's winter, I presume that our fresh produce is either coming from greenhouses or from quite far away.

With regards to goods made abroad, it seems that the primary concerns are, in no particular order (everyone has their own priorities):

- quality/safety of products
- working conditions/human rights
- impact on domestic/local economies
- geopolitical/ethical (i.e., don't agree with Beijing's stance on Tibet or Taiwan, etc.)

As a Taiwanese American, from the time I began earning my own money, I never wanted a cent to go to China. But I found it was nearly impossible as a struggling 20-something in the mid-90s to even buy socks and underwear at my budget that weren't made in China. More options have evolved as American consumers have begun to pay more attention to issues such as labor conditions and product safety, so that's a good thing.

I feel that my stance on this has also evolved. Few things are made entirely in one place anymore. Icebreaker ships its raw wool from NZ to China to be processed and made into finished products. It's a good company with great products and strong environmental ethics, and they've made a great effort to be consistent with those ethics at every stage of production. Yes, their products cost a little more, but it's a company I don't mind supporting.

I was on a whale-watching boat last week, and one of the guides told us, when you do a trip like this, you show the community that there is an economically viable alternative to killing whales.

So, supporting a company like Icebreaker in my mind is a little like eco-tourism. Show the Chinese that ethical practices pay off.

As for the bicycle industry -- I'm just glad that, for the moment, there are millions of Chinese riding bicycles instead of driving cars.