If you want to get angry at how thoroughly big American companies have sold out to China manufacturing, just take a look at plastic cutlery.
Here’s a set from Kingsford. It’s red, white, and blue, so you know it’s an all-American product, right? Wrong. Made in China.
And then there’s Glad. Another all-American company, right? But they don’t divulge the country of origin on their Amazon page, and then you see this in a tiny corner of their packaging.
Every marketer who uses phrases like “designed in the USA” or “responsibly made in China” should be fired. They think we’re idiots who see the word “responsibly” and think to ourselves, “oh, that’s okay then. As long as they’re ‘responsible’ in their use of a country that enslaves their people, steals intellectual property, strips their natural resources, and continues to be the worst human rights violator in the history of mankind…then that’s cool. Let’s buy more plastic crap!
And then there’s the all-American brand “Wish USA” whose mailing address is 三埠长沙曙光西路57号首层第2卡、第3卡
Let’s face it, most of corporate America has sold out to China, and most consumers are still clueless. But weaning ourselves from China has to start somewhere, and the three brands below are a great place to start.
The Best Plastic Flatware Not Made in China
1. BST Clear Plastic Cutlery Set
I had a chance to try these out for myself. My first reaction: these were made in the USA??! I didn’t think the US had the capability of making disposable plastic things anymore, much less price them competitively.
But here you have 96 spoons, forks, and knives that are made of hard plastic (not the flimsy kind you see coming out of China), and not only that, they’re engineered to use LESS plastic and be MORE strong than typical mass-produced flatware.
What most American companies do is stop innovating and then just get the cheapest China labor to mass produce an old design. Maybe for the first time in decades, BST has invented a strong plastic spoon and fork that truly innovates. Don’t be surprised if China manufacturers and even American corporations steal their design and start mass producing them. That’s all the more reason to support them by buying ONLY from them. They’re available on Amazon.
2. Preserve Cutlery
Here’s a set of cutlery from Preserve, a certified B Corporation that makes all kinds of plastic goods from razors to toothbrushes to kitchenware. They’re a pioneer in sustainable products, and its kind of a crime that Amazon buries them deep in the search results while Chinese companies dump more and more plastic into our waterways and waste stream.
They’re made of 100% recycled #5 BPA-free plastic (polypropylene), the most common kind of plastic found in the waste stream today, which they collect from trusted sourcing partners and thoroughly test for foreign elements or harmful chemicals.
While the product copy refers to their “Gimme 5” program where they used to collect used products for recycling, they sadly had to close the program because it become too inefficient for them to collect small bits of plastic rather than working with municipal recyclers. One thing I appreciated was their advice to recycle ONLY plastics that your local regulations can accept—many well-meaning Americans throw all kinds of plastics into the recycling stream, which actually raises costs and hurts recycling in the long run.
The best solution, of course, is to avoid plastic in the first place. But where you can’t, responsible recycling is the next best solution.
3. Great Value Cutlery
I had to do a double-take here. Great Value is Walmart’s house brand. When Sam Walton was alive, he made a point to ensure that Walmart and Sam’s Club sourced from the USA. But as the years go by after his death, his employees betrayed everything he stood for.
Happy to see at least one example here of an area where they’re helping Americans and American industry by making them in America. And ironically, the price point was lower than most of the junk being sent from China, even before tariffs.
These are available at Walmart.
4. Chinet Cut Crystal Cutlery
One well-known brand that seems to have avoided the China trap is Chinet. I’ve seen conflicting reports that this beautiful plastic flatware is made either in the USA or in Mexico. Bottom line, they’re not made in China.
I linked to a seller on Amazon, but you may be able to get them cheaper by visiting a Target or your local grocery store in person.
Conclusion
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Amazon is flooded with cheap China plastic that’s made in terrible conditions that treat both humans and the environment as disposable, all to prop up the glorious Party.
Make a start by buying only these.
Do you know of any other disposable flatware worthy of mention here? Let us know in the comments.
Until a few years ago, it was very easy in Europe to buy disposable cutlery produced in Europe. However since the new legislation that no plastic disposable cutlery, straws, trays and much more can be used, China immediately jumped into the gap. Nowadays it’s all made of wood and who do you think makes that….? Our European legislation is once again bankrupting European companies and opening the doors to China.