In India work is underway by Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal to ensure that the country of origin can be clearly identified for all products offered on their platforms. This follows an Indian government directive in response to calls for a boycott of all Chinese products. Elsewhere, including Australia, consumer sentiment is driving a move to force retailers to buy products made anywhere other than China following ill-feeling fanned by the Chinese Government’s threats to the Australian economy.
There are also drives from consumer pressure groups around the globe which assert that China’s behaviour in respect of Hong Kong, along with its record of human rights abuses in mainland China, can only be countered by reducing or eliminating purchases of Chinese products. There are however numerous obstacles to overcome, primarily that it is not always clear when Chinese manufactured components are used in products that are assembled elsewhere under non-Chinese brand names.
As we are entering an era in which consumers are showing clear signs of a desire to learn more about the products they are buying, it can be expected that further countries will require much more detailed country of origin labelling.
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