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do they have nice simple cheap white mugs?

my best friend says that i'm racist (i'm african american) but there are some things that for me must be white--1. towels 2. china (currently mikasa's white tivoli which has great bowls) and 3. sheets (no kkk)...

i adore pearl river but shop there less and less, as I wonder if the goods are made under less-than-ethical conditions...potentially there a hidden cost to all those fun, cheap, throwaway objectts.

also, i've found that a lot of things at pearl river aren't dishwasher safe (for those of you who actually ahve that luxury!)

suzyq,

A confucian tenet that most chinese merchants adhere to goes,"low profit margin, sell at a volume." The mark-up is lower among chineses-owned stores compared to the western ones which accounts for the low prices.

i got my stuff at the pottery barn & williams senoma outlet. it's VERY cheap. i wanted simple white stuff & i got it. i paid $1-2 for each peice. normally they are $6. so, not bad at all. plus, if you get one of their basic pieces, you are more likely to find a replacement if something breaks.

And where is that outlet, MG? Inquiring minds want to know.

The Williams Sonoma website says there isn't an outlet within 100 miles of Manhattan.

Unless I'm missing something....

There's a Williams-Sonoma outlet at Woodbury Common mall outside of NYC.

Jamey-
Like you, I love plain white dishes, sheets, and towels. It gives the eyes a nice break from all the busy stuff going on elsewhere in the decor.

Crate and Barrel, online and also the outlet, have some great white dishes. And no, there is no other color for dishes as far as I am concerned.
I have been using the same set of C&B's Cafeware II for literally 15 years. I still adore it and it still looks brand new. I broke a mug a couple of weeks ago and was thrilled to see they still carry it.

From Pearl River, I love the blue and white Japanese ceramic soup/cereal bowls that cost around $4 each. They are glazed inside and out; the interiors usually have a floral pattern, while the exterior pattern is more basic and geometric. The rims are usually brown. The same sort of bowls are sold for around the same price at World Market, but last time I checked, Pearl River had a bigger selection.

Note that Pearl River has more expensive goods too - you can go there and pretty much spend whatever you want to spend. There are very cheap plates and very expensive tea sets and almost everything inbetween. It just depends what you're looking for.

(I also highly recommend the cans of jasmine tea. You won't believe what that tea looks and smells like when it's unfurled, but the best clue I can give you is "something a LOT more expensive.")

If you're worried that these might be made under less-than-ethical conditions, you need not worry. The prices I see here seem fair.
These plates and bowls probably cost no more than between 10-15 cents to make.
I am in Thailand and overstocked IKEA plates that are manufactured here sell for the equivalent of roughly 30 cents. Whittard of Chelsea mugs go for about 50 cents. So with shipping cost and mark-up, a few bucks each seem right.

suzyq, I agree. I try my best to avoid purchasing anything made in China. Low or high price has nothing to do with whether or not workers are fairly treated. If child labor, beatings and murder matter to you then you should not shop in stores like Walmart or buy things made in China, Colombia, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Swaziland, Indonesia and many other countries where sweatshops are commonplace.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGUSA20070301001

http://www.buyblue.org/node/2137/view/ratings/tid/141

http://www.google.com/search?q=colombia+coca+cola+drummond+murder+union

Pearl River also has the best catfood bowls ever: blue & white painted with any kind of seafood you can imagine. Eat up kitty, and you get to see the flounder!