They have wood in China too

After reading Soulemama's post about her local source for wooden acorns, I browsed right on over to buy myself one or twenty-five. I seem to have a thing for acorns this year, and little wooden things in general. You know I found more than just acorns. I ended up with a veritable menagerie that included moose, deer, bears and these reindeer cut-outs. I thought they would make lovely ornaments with the addition of a little paint and some ribbon so I happily added a few of each to my cart. Two days later I had a little brown box waiting for me on the doorstep when I arrived home from work.


As I was unpacking all my treasures, I was surprised to find this sticker on one of the reindeer. I looked through the catalog that the company had thoughtfully included and found no indication that their products were from sources other than "local wood mills." I emailed the company to inquire about the origins of the other items I purchased . They got right back to me and were happy to tell me what was local and what was imported (most of what I bought was local). The moose cut-out, of course, is made in Maine.

I suppose I've learned a lesson about assuming things without doing the research myself. I was a little too pleased with myself for buying locally. One might go so far as to say smug. And really, had I known the reindeer were made in China, I totally would have bought them anyway. But next time I'm going to ask a few questions before I hit that PayPal check out button so that I'm sure I know what I'm talking about.