Made in China

Sitting on the bus wending your way to work and wherever you are, you probably have a bit of China with you.

Listening to your iPod. Made in China. Fiddling with your key ring. Made in China. Label on the inside of your underpants irritating you a little bit. It more than likely says "Made in China".

If you walk down the high street and every garment's made in China, what do you do? Do you go naked? Tim Spencer Boycotter

When there was a boycott of South African products during the Apartheid era or of France by irritated Americans in the run-up to the Iraq war, those were political statements that might have meant a little privation for those involved. But they weren't on the same scale as China.

Opponents of China talk of its treatment of Tibet, its appalling record on human rights, jailing of dissidents, and even its attitude towards animal welfare when calling for a boycott. The Friends of Tibet group has called for such action, but it's impossible to know how many people are engaged in boycotting.

China's defenders suggest it is becoming more open and receptive to basic rights. And there are plenty of people who, while criticising China, regard the idea of a boycott as counter-productive. There are those who feel boycotts are too crude a device, affecting the lowest-paid labourers rather than just the regime. There is also a view that, particularly when it comes to China, constructive engagement is a better option than a boycott.

Cheap shops

Those who do choose to boycott can be a resolute bunch. Tricia Hall spends a lot of time in charity shops. A trip to the High Street means a slew of questions and baffled stares from shop assistants. "Where was it made?" "Dunno, doesn't it say?"

"When they are labelled it is easy enough," says Mrs Hall. "We are very careful. But they have a very large grip on the market.

China is enjoying massive success in some sectors

"We do avoid the High Street. You can't trust them any more. I certainly don't go to the cheap shops."

Mrs Hall and her husband have boycotted Chinese products for a decade because of human and animal rights issues. Life has been easier for them as they are not big consumers.

But for those who with an electronic bent, for instance, things are more difficult.

Extra cost

John Yelland is struggling to print things out. He decided to start a boycott after seeing a video of dogs being mistreated in China. Now he can't find a new printer because they all seem to be made in China, or from Chinese components.

"I would rather pay a few quid more for the same product. You have got to be extremely careful. A lot of products don't specify where they were made. They might say made in Bedfordshire when the product is shipped in from China."

Chinese factories are making cars based on British designs

It's the "component problem". Let's say you buy a television from a big name brand in Korea or Japan. It may be assembled in the home nation, it may even have been assembled in Europe.

But it's hard to imagine that of the dozens of different components inside it, some haven't come from China. Whether it's chips, LEDs or humble wires, there's a lot of stuff that could potentially not be from the place it was assembled.

"It's very difficult to go down to every single transistor or circuit board in every device," says Stuff magazine editor Fraser Macdonald.

Outsourcing wave

A boycott of Chinese products really meets its match in the field of consumer electronics.

There is some production still in Europe, particularly of expensive equipment, says Rob Follis, a public relations consultant for consumer electronics firms, but it is dwindling in the face of outsourcing to China.

Avoiding Chinese toys is difficult for boycotters

Follis has clients like hi-fi maker Arcam which manufactures mainly in Britain, and headphones firm Sennheiser, which manufactures in the Republic of Ireland and Europe, but they are no longer the rule.

Clothes don't have the same hidden mix of components as electronics, but China is coming to dominate the market in a way that makes life hard for the boycotters. Dalha Tsering of the Tibetan Community in Britain group doesn't always find it easy.

"I avoid buying anything made in China, from children's toys to shoes to all sorts of electronic equipment. Sometimes it is very, very difficult because the price is very, very different. I usually buy Italian for shoes."

Child's birthday

Alternative retailers like Ethical Threads or People Tree don't have any dealings with China. And for anyone spending a bit of money there's clothes made in Britain, and in Italy, as well as slightly cheaper options from the likes of Portugal and Eastern Europe.

Tim Spencer, from Wimborne in Dorset, has only been boycotting for a little over a week, since watching a TV documentary about China. But he can already see problems on the horizon. What happens when he needs to go clothes shopping?

Televisions are often made in Korea or Japan

"If you walk down the High Street and every garment's made in China, what do you do? Do you go naked?"

And when the next child's birthday rolls round in November there could really be problems. Because one area of manufacturing where China dominates the world market like a colossus is toys.

There are big brands like Playmobil and Lego, whose production bases are in Europe. But they are the exception rather than the rule.

Alan Milne, of Equitoy, the Association for Toy Importers, says it is impossible to put a precise figure on the level of Chinese toys imported, with EU trade rules complicating the matter. But it was estimated last year that of all the toys sold in the UK, 85% are made in China.

Recent years have seen a steady stream of big names taking their production to China. British firm Hornby and the Swedish wooden train set maker Brio are among the recent departures.

Avoiding China is hard in the globalised world trade system. Something of Shanghai or Shenzen is in so much of what we own. Even the most hardened boycotter may inadvertently be buying the "wrong" thing.