There is a concept in Poland called “economic patriotism” (patriotyzm gospodarczy). There are ads and campaigns promoting buying Polish products. If a product is Polish it is usually visibly indicated and I’d say it is a part of its selling point. Personally, I’m not very patriotic, but I prefer buying Polish products, because I think it helps our community, so I guess I’m “economically patriotic”.
What about you? I was wondering if this is the case in other countries.
47 comments
Many Danes, including me, care very much about foodstuffs being produced locally; especially vegetables and meats, not to mention bread, flour, oats, sugar and soon. I don’t know if it is necessarily patriotism, but, at least according to my parents, it had/s something to do with the regulations on food production in other countries; i.e that foreign fruits and vegetables would contain more toxins from pesticides and so on; which is weird considering how absolutely pumped full of penicillin Danish pork has been for ages.
For other products, I don’t know, not really. Denmark hasn’t had much of a large scale production economy for many consumer goods for ages, electronics, hard whites and so on, came from abroad, with Danish products becoming increasingly focused on “Danish design” and branding, and thus slipped out of the grasp of the broad population that many of the designers intended them for, and spread them to the small local furniture manufacturers for.
There are some products you still find Danish made, especially in engineering and heating and water and such, light switches, thermostats, and so on and so on.
Clothes have been produced abroad for ages, so I don’t know about that either.
Not really, but if I find out a product I bought is Belgian I will think to myself “huh, that’s neat”.
I do. I always try to buy products made in the U.K. and most of the meat I buy I make sure it’s scottish meat
Not really. I try to buy locally as much as possible, but on a much smaller scale than country. State or even city/town whenever possible.
No, I only care if a food product originates in the European Union (that gives me confidence).
If it’s anything else I don’t care much, but if it comes from an EU country that’s a plus.
Most of the food items are made in Romania, but I personally don’t give a shit where it’s from, I buy what I like, I can’t help it when something made locally sucks.
If it costs more or less the same (give or take a crown or two), I’ll buy Danish, but if it costs too much more, I’ll buy cheaper
Not in general.. Anyways the agriculture sector i norway is very “pro-norway”.. The trademark of vegetables/fruit here is “Nyt Norge” which translates into “enjoy norway”. And on one of these i will surely agree that the norwegian is much better than the others.. and that’s the strawberries… when they come for the season it’s announced everywhere. Until then you mostly have dutch/belgian or spanish ones which is pretty much tasteless compared with the norwegians.. Norwegian agricultural sector is very protected, so you often have to live with most of it being norwegian either you like it or not.
Otherwise many norwegian products (non-food) are actually non-norwegian. Typically meaning that the company is norwegian but it’s made in vietnam, bangladesh or china..
Yeah, I guess. I think ‘Made in Germany” is for many people still a synonym for quality.
I personally am more inclined to buy a german product when it comes to e.g. electronics (headphones, washing mashines, etc), because they often offer a decent standard and feel familiar.
Also, when abroad I usually stick to german brands because I know what I get (e.g. Nivea, Braun, etc).
I do try to buy Irish where possible but there’s not an endless list of stuff made/manufactured in Ireland so you’re naturally spending a lot of money with foreign companies and brands so it’s more of a case of trying to throw some money locally as well. I also like to support small businesses and craftspeople.
So for example the vast majority of my wardrobe has to be non Irish made clothing so I try to balance it out slightly by only buying Wool/Tweed and Linen products made in Ireland because that’s the only clothing/textile manufacturing left and they’re heritage industries so like to support.
I think I’d also tend to favour EU products in a lot of cases as well.
When it comes to food, yes. Because I feel I can trust that it is good quality. With other products, not so much.
What I usually always look for is to buy products from the EU. Why should I buy wine from New Zealand or South Africa when I can buy wine from my French neighbours or from Spain or Portugal?
Products from Germany are not particularly relevant for me; if I do, I look for products from my region. But what the supermarkets label often has often little to do with the reality of the products. The best German example is “Schwarzwälder Schinken/Black Forest ham”. This is a protected product, to be able to call your sausage that, it has to have a certain production process and be smoked in the Black Forest.
But the pigs often come from Denmark or the Netherlands, are slaughtered by exploited Poles, Romanians or Bulgarians in NRW in our big butchers, are then transported to the Black Forest to be smoked so that you can put “Schwarzwälder Schinken” on it, and then the slicing and packaging happens somewhere else again.
We care a lot. Things labeled as produced in Catalonia sell a lot better. Linked to that, we also have a very popular and burgeoning concept called “Quilòmetre zero”, (Kilometer zero), which basically encompasses any kind of foodstuff produced in the regional area you are in or in Catalonia in general. Basically, it’s viewed almost as a duty to buy as local as possible to help local producers.
I do prefer it, but we don’t make much here in Scotland (or really even in the UK in general). They’re usually more expensive than other options, but the quality is generally high – if I’m buying a vice for example and it’s got “Made in England” cast into it I know I’ll be passing it on to my grandchildren.
Food is the main one, I don’t really want my food to travel more than it has to so I was quite disappointed to find that one of my local butchers gets their chicken from Eastern Europe (likewise if I lived out that way I’d be disappointed to get chicken from the UK!).
I like to buy German simply because it’s synonymous with quality not for any patriotic reasons. However, I tend also to do the opposite and AVOID products from certain countries. The reasons vary, anything from political to human rights issues to sweat shop labour etc etc.
Yes. especially for food items like vegetables and fruits.
To put it simply, the imported stuff from Italy, Turkey or Spain simply doesn’t taste of anything. It’s like cardboard. I’m sure these countries have good quality items, but those do not get here.
Kind of. As far as food is concerned, I like to buy it as local as possible (ideally not just French but closer than that). Other than that, if I can find a good option that was made in Europe or even France I’ll be happy to take it… But to be honest a lot of other criteria take precedence for me. The last car I bought was made in Germany by an American company. The previous one, in Turkey by a Japanese company. My blender is America. My phone is Korean, it was probably made in China like pretty much all electronic devices? Most of my furniture comes from a Swedish company. And so on. (No points for guessing any of the brand’s, they’re all very mainstream).
Yes, a bit, especially with food, as others have said it can be difficult to get things that are made in the UK, if I can’t buy British then I’ll try to buy from elsewhere in Europe. Mainly it’s not out of patriotism, more because I know labour and environmental standards are higher and European products are usually better quality.
I try to buy local as much as I can, although that doesn’t really mean much. Fresh food mainly. I try supporting Finnish clothes companies but the choice is limiting and most likely made in China.
Beer! I pretty much only drink Finnish made beer.
Foods, absolutely. Especially meats and other fresh produce. We consider our food products to be of a high standard and everything finnish is definently branded as such. There’s definently some kind of a divide between imported stuff. Norwegian salmon or danish pork counts almost as domestic, people don’t think twice about it. But when KFC opened here and it was revealed they used polish chicken people made a lot jokes about it and the company was questioned why they didn’t use finnish chicken.
Fruits and similar stuff from southern europe are considered good but people wouldn’t buy techical stuff from there. German made foods in Lidl are considered a bit icky but german cars and other techical products are held in high regard.
So if we make it, ours is the best. If not, we go by with pretty much more or less deserved stereotypes.
Made in Germany is considered a quality label, so why not 🙂
I do care a bit, but mostly I’m happy to buy from any democratic country. If I’m buying a skidding winch I can choose Igland (Norwegian), KRPAN (Slovenia) or KGD (Austria). Why shouldn’t I buy from Slovenia if I feel they are better than the Norwegian and Austrian offering?
I do try to avoid buying Chinese though (and I consider western brands produced in China as better than Chinese brands).
Lot of people consider czech-made as superior. So yes, it is a common advertisement point.
Personally, I buy quality, and don’t care where it’s produced.
Most european country claim it has the best food products. For perishable it can make sense because the food will certainly be fresher but all kinds of quality exist accross Europe. I try to buy the closest I can when I know people are not price gouging me because it is local.
For manufactured products sometimes it’s hard to avoid made in china but apart from electronics it’s doable, I try to find affordable french products or at least european. One of my criteria is also to not buy from countries relying too much on fossil fuels, coal especially…
I live in a country that’s not mine so there’s zero patriotic sentiment in any sense.
I go for European stuff whenever possible with exceptions. For example things like fish sauce I generally buy a Thai brand. European things with cultural heritage I try to get from the correct country; I avoid fake Italian stuff or fake halloumi mockeries for example.
I don’t look for Swedish stuff but I don’t avoid it ether, and I really love going to the farmers market and buying produce right from the farm.
Things like dairy products and meat have a special logo that shows if its from Sweden or not. I believe that most people prefer to choose to buy local food. Vegetables will often have “swedish something” if they’re produced here.
When it comes to non-food I think if the price is similar people would chose a swedish or nordic made product
Italian here. I do care, especially when buying fruits and vegetables. Anyway the majority of the goods sold in grocery stores are made in Italy.
Yes, especially with food. And with furniture, when we moved!
My usual thought process for the stuff goes like: is there Myhomecounty version? If nope or too overpriced: is there just Estonian version? Okey, maybe Finnish? If not, pick cheapest that seems ok unless other reasons (like no cage chicken eggs).
Local stuff usually has a smaller carbon footprint and helps to keep the local jobs.
With clothes I go either second hand or if I cannot find what I want it is usually very specific and I just get it where it is sold. I don’t buy clothes just because I saw them anyways, I always have an exact thing in mind, it can just be easier to find (a pair of black jeans) or harder to find (an extremely waterproof thin rain jacket with pockets).
Hm, it depends. When it comes to foodstuffs? I try to buy as locally as I can. Even in the supermarket I buy Scottish produced meat, eggs, milk etc. and if course you have the Scottish sweets which you can get from the market. During the summer I like to buy fresh strawberries from the nearest farm, I have so many fond memories of driving through the countryside and stopping just to get those delicious strawberries…
As for everything else? Not really. I love French bread and the hair and skin products I use come from Sweden and Germany. The most popular electronics are from Japan, China and the USA. Then there’s the cars which come from all over the world. I feel like Swedish cider deserves an honororary mention though, I love that stuff more than Whisky!
Mostly if it’s something that I associate with the gastronomy of my country. Like why would I ever buy oranges, almonds or olive oil from somewhere else? Actually, I get a lot of those for free because my family grows/makes their own, but that’s besides the point. Unless they are special varieties or species that aren’t common to here, I would rather buy national products. And if I do buy anything international, I would rather it be from the EU.
Yes I care a lot. Made in France is a big marketing strategy in France, and since Covid I think people care even more now.
Personally I prefer to buy clementines from Corsica at 5€/kg than clementines at 2€/kg from Spain for example.
not much as due to long, spread out production chains it’s imposible to tell what comes from where.
However if i know it’s mostly polish and everything else is of similar quality i will take the polish one
Yes, products made in Slovenia are advertised as such and many people prefer buying locally which, given the size of the country, means every region.
Whether its food, kitchen appliances, sporting equipment.. and everything else that is on par or maybe superior (fresh food especially), buying locally not only helps to boost domestic economy which consequently positively affects the standard of living, but also helps the environment by lowering the imprint of transport.
This thinking may be in line with some nationalistic values, but other than that, ofcourse everybody loves open markets and the exchange of goods across borders. As long as there is a health and safety standard, and so on, open markets make life better.
Some products tho, are valued more if they are from a certain country, but this comes down more to personal preference and is hard to generalize. And on the other hand, I would never in my life buy honey that is not from my country (while I live here).
Depends on the product, but yeah I often have more trust in made in Germany and prefer supporting our companies. For example I’d never buy a foreign car. On the other hand when I see that a movie is made in Germany, I usually reject it, because our movies usually suck.
depends on the product, but in general I probably try to avoid products from some countries more than caring it is from here or not
Generally, I don’t care at all.
But when I’m in Sweden or something, I do think it’s neat to see stuff that’s produced in my home country. I don’t care enough to buy that over something from another country, however.
Not patriotism but common sense. The vegetables and fruits from the Netherland, Belgium and other western countries sold in the big hyper and supermarkets have no taste. Eating them is like eating paper or cardboard. I prefer the vegetables and fruits grown in Romania because they still retain their taste. Same for meat; nothing beats a chicken or pork meat when the birds and animals were raised in the traditional way. Romania was and still is an agricultural country and food really tastes good here.
When it comes to food, I try to buy as local as possible so no green beans from Kenia or beef grom Argentina because it doesn’t make sense to get food from the other side of the world when I can get the same thing from the Netherlands or somewhere else in Europe. When it comes to electronics it’s hard to avoid Chinese stuff. My current car is surprisingly European (French) considering my preference for Japanese cars. Even if there were an affordable Dutch car brand I still wouldn’t buy it just because it’s Dutch.
That is all fine and nice. But if everyone does that, your export is fucked. Origin labelling is right now required for just a few products. EU commission is working on a revisionof the origin labelling to add a few more products (such as potatoes and hard grains for pasta). But honestly it provides no addd value to the consumer: all EU products need to meet the same requirements, and origin labelling is unrelated to sustainability: a tomatoe grown in open air in Spain, transported by train to Denmark can have a lower footprint than a tomatoe grown localy in a diesel heated greenhouse.
Eating seasonal is much more important for the environment hand food quality) than eating local.
Personally yes, quite a lot actually. My reasoning is that this gives work to people of Slovakia (or other close countries).
My order is :
Slovak products -> Czech products -> EU products -> everything else
I don’t care at all. I want good quality and reasonable price, no matter where the thing was produced.
I don’t care at all, most stuff in Ireland is made here anyway. Milk, meat, butter, bread, is all made here, I would have to search very hard for foreign products here.
When I lived in Russia, I preferred buying dairy and meat products made in my city or region, became it doesn’t feel right for ham or sour cream to travel for thousands and thousands of kilometers before you can eat it. I would also buy a certain kind of chocolates made in my city, but that because they’re DELICIOUS, not because they’re local.
For other things, location of origin wouldn’t matter that much. Apart from European shoes for colder times of the year. They either didn’t last or(and) were too cold for Russian climate. So as you can see, I’m pretty much concerned with quality, and if having good quality means buying local, that’s what I would happily do.
Now that I live in New Zealand, for some reason I don’t feel bad about buying sour cream that possibly traveled trough half the country. Maybe because NZ is much smaller, maybe because there aren’t many regional brands selling dairy or deli meats.
And talking about things apart from food, things produced in NZ can be of very nice quality, but are often quite pricy.
I do, I tend to buy on a smaller scale though. Being in the north of the country, I will prefer to buy a Belgian product made at the border than one made in Marseille for example.
But with only the country indicated, I will tend to buy French products. Especially with food, I refuse to buy vegetables and fruits from elsewhere.
Yes i do, not so much but i still like if something is Czech
No, not really, I care more about the quality than where it was grown/produced.
It usually doesn’t impact my buying decissions, but I like it when I find things made here. There are exceptions, if I’m presented with two similar alternatives I tend to buy the national or european one as it didn’t have to cross half of the world to get there and it’s also good for the economy.
Also as Spain is a big food producer, if something “fresh” comes form other places it’s probably because it’s out of the season and maybe it’s better to buy an alternative. But well, there are things that are growed in Spain even if it’s not the season so it’s not a gold rule.