Supermarket chains or locally owned?

So I failed again...kinda...I had to buy the fruit and veg for work today and didn't really have a choice about what things to get. Aswell as heaps of NZ fruit and veg I ended up getting Ecuadorian bananas and Italian kiwifruit.I did go to Growers Direct though, figured it's better than The Funky Pumpkin, Raeward Fresh, Countdown or whatever. Also, it wasn't my money and I didn't have a choice about what to buy.

No gum!

Are you kidding me?...I can't chew gum for the next year!?

Budget blowing notebooks...

I went to buy paper and pens today. Suprisingly I straight away found two NZ made items...Warwick (made by Croxley) loose leaf refill and those little 50c notebooks. Unfortunately I need printer paper and spiral bound books. The only versions of these that weren't made in Indonesia didn't state country of origin. As some of them were also Warwick I assume they're not made here otherwise it would say so. Pens too...I should have just not bothered! I scoured the shelves for what seemed like hours in that ridiculous heat, just as I was about to give up I saw two spiral bound notebooks with "made in NZ" stickers. I thought 'awesome, now I can get outta here' that's when I turned one of them over...$22!...are they serious? Sure it had a lump of paua stuck to the cover (which would undoubtedly remove itself the first time I put it in my bag, no matter how careful I was) but the same sized book (and in my opinion better looking) from an undisclosed country was $5! So what should I do?...Blow my budget on a ridiculously priced notebook or grab one from who knows where?

Franchises, corporate superstars and coconut cream.

I had a rather drunken momentary lapse of reason on Saturday night...ended up at BK. Although their food is technically made in New Zealand I'm not sure that it counts. Is it possible to get a New Zealand version of good old sobering greasiness for that cheap at that time of night? BK is a franchise so a New Zealander does own and operate it but does that make it a New Zealand product?...McDonalds claim to source their ingredients locally but I can't find any info to suggest BK does the same. Surely it would be cheaper to get them from here than to import them from America or wherever though. Surely this is the same as the Dilmah dilemma. While I'd like to think this exercise is restricting me from putting more money in the pockets of corporate superstars I'm not sure that's possible. Even coke is 'made in NZ'...they bought L&P too so what I thought was an iconic New Zealand drink and 'safe to buy' actually now belongs to a massive multi-national corporation! There are things that we all consume everyday that I'm sure most people don't consider, sugar for example. We don't grow sugarcane here so have to import all our sugar but it's in almost everything we consume and I'm sure pretty much everyone can't live without it in some form. I figure if there is no NZ made equivalent to something I need (versus something I want) then it's ok to go for the next best option. Last week on my night to cook, I really wanted to make a Thai curry, I had been looking forward to it all day then got to the supermarket and discovered coconut cream isn't made here. If I had of thought a bit more I would have realised this but was blinded by my curry craving. The only options were 'Made in Thailand', 'Made in Samoa' or the home brand version which didn't state country of origin. I figure next time it's ok to buy the cream from Samoa as it is one of the few exports they have as opposed to Thailands giant 'Trident'.

NZ made petrol?

So I was telling Grandad about this project and the first thing he asked was "where will you get your petrol from?" I hadn't thought about petrol at all and had a sudden glimpse of myself biking everywhere for the next year. He went on to tell me that New Zealand produces/refines some petrol. No-one seemed to know where I could get my hands on this petrol so once again I turned to google. Turns out Challenge petrol stations sell it, not only that, they are a purely New Zealand company, a franchise too!

Dilmah Dilemma..revisited.

So...the 'Dilmah Dilemma'...I figure products made in New Zealand, even if profits go offshore are ok to buy.  After all, production here creates job oppourtunies for Kiwis. We only have a small manufacturing capacity anyway. New Zealand focusses mainly on tourism and agriculture but money earnt here isn't enough to cover our imports, therefore, foreign investments need to be encouraged.

Keep the money here or let some go offshore?

Thoroughly depressing shopping day!...My pay has been burning a hole in my pocket for a week now so today I decided to do something about it. A week or so ago I managed to rip a pretty big hole in the knee of my last good pair of tights and was gutted at the prospect of lasting a year with no tights. I searched http://www.madefromnewzealand.com/  for stockings/tights just on the off chance that possibly someone here might make them and 'Columbine' turned up. Not only are they one of the cheapest brands, from my experience they are the longest lasting. They also have heaps of different styles and colours so yay for Columbine! Next time you need some stockings check them out. After this wee win I went to check out the skincare section as my moisteriser is getting very low. I was rather suprised to find several 'made in New Zealand' brands. However, I was a bit sceptical so came home and googled them. Turns out I have another Dilmah situation on my hands...whilst the products are made here, they are made for offshore companies. I know there are skincare products being made here for local companies but the ones I have come across have been quite outside my price range. So...do I save and splash out on some made by New Zealand companies or do I go for the option made by offshore companies?

Dilmah Dilemma...

Ok so first post...It's been 10 days now and has been easier than I thought to live off New Zealand made products. I've only really bought food and drink though so seasonal fruit and the like. I did buy some Dilmah iced tea though, thought I was doing good by passing over my more favoured Lipton for the NZ made Dilmah. However, I later realised that while producing here creates job opportunities, the profit will still go back to Mr Dilamh in Sri Lanka. So...my Dilmah dilemma...to buy or not to buy?...Probably not, I'm not that attached to it anyway.