A dated pejorative slang term denoting Chinese origin. The term has largely been forgotten by
political correctness and awareness of global peoples, but has resurfaced to describe consumer items and articles manufactured in China. These items are of poor or inferior quality or considered to be disposable -
particularly when those items replaced higher quality items or ones with greater expectation of longevity. History shows that manufacture of these items may employ practices banned in or deemed hazardous by other nations, for example, adding melamine, an adulterant which may be poisonous to certain individuals or in certain concentrations, in order to fraudulently increase the protein levels of foods, or painting toys with lead-based paint.
These items are imported to the detriment of domestic workers and domestically produced items. Retailers and corporations counter that domestically produced materials would be
significantly more expensive and that consumers would be unwilling to pay the cost differential, thereby harming their profit margins.
