Our choices reflect our values.
Fight against pollution!
China is the world’s largest polluter, responsible for 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is also the leading producer, exporter, and importer of plastic, and by far the largest source of mismanaged plastic waste and ocean plastic pollution.
Although the Chinese government claims to be fighting climate change, many factories continue to violate environmental laws by operating in unauthorised locations and releasing illegal CFC gases, which have been known for decades to cause ozone depletion.
Protect human rights!
While China's economy booms, its laborers suffer. Forced labor, child labor, low wages, long working hours, and poor working conditions are widespread in China. A number of factories exploit hundreds of thousands of forced laborers, including Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, while approximately 8% of children are engaged in child labor. To make matters worse, independent labor unions are illegal, and the law fails to protect workers' rights.
Stop intellectual property theft!
Counterfeit and pirated goods are a growing menace, posing a major threat to innovation and economic growth globally. China leads the world in counterfeit and pirated products. It’s not just luxury brands, these illegal products cover intermediary products, consumer goods and even medicines and drugs, also impacting our personal health and safety.
Avoid unsafe products
Most alerts for dangerous non-food consumer products issued in the UK and EU involve products originating from China. These unsafe items span various categories and sectors, both branded and unbranded, including toys, children's equipment, furniture, and electrical appliances. They pose serious risks to consumer health and safety, such as injury, fire, explosion, electric shock, and choking.
Advocate transparency and honesty!
We seek transparency regarding social justice, health, environmental concerns, and the safety of the products and brands we purchase. Unfortunately, many Chinese businesses fail to provide genuine transparency. False data and counterfeit or altered certificates are common, making it difficult to trust their products.
End reliance on a single country!
The world has become heavily reliant on China in key areas such as raw materials, pharmaceutical ingredients, semiconductors, electronics, technology, and more. The past few years have underscored the risks of depending on a single country for essential goods, regardless of which country it is.
In the post-pandemic future, this system is expected to change, and NONMIC looks forward to a world with more diversified supply chains. Both the EU and the Five Eyes alliance have unveiled plans and strategies to reduce economic dependence on China, including shifting production.