Tag: Christmas

animals cartoons Christianity consumer spending consumption dongguan exports Fang Binxing globalization Great Firewall holiday imports Keso labor rights lifestyle London made in China manufacturing plastic waste soft power students sweatshops Tibet tourists toy industry toys traditional culture U.S trade Wal-Mart youth culture

Recycling America’s Christmas Lights

China’s hunger for materials and its powerful economies of scale can make a viable business of recycling what would occupy landfills elsewhere. At The Atlantic, Adam Minter describes the town of Shijiao, whose factories recycle more than 20 million pounds of discarded Christmas tree lights each year. The town may offer a challenge to the perception that shipping material (back) to China for recycling