Hah! It wasn't obvious but after reading this post I agree it perhaps should have been.
But that brings another topic to the equation: countries with no regulatory burdens, be it emissions standards, safety standards, working conditions, pay scale, blah blah blah. That "not in MY back yard" mentality which can serve to simply push bad things somewhere else, and often compounds those bad things. NASA's timelapse imagery around the globe of industrial pollution would be a good indicator of such a phenomenon. We (North America) enjoy a relatively clean area for an industrialized nation, no doubt due in large part to the EPA.... but China (and much of Southeast Asia in general) easily eclipses the rest of the planet combined. And if you consider the fact that much (most?) of that is from the manufacture of products that are destined to be shipped elsewhere...much of it here...what is the net result to the environment as a whole?
Not sure what the answer to this problem is, but at least admitting it is a problem would be a good first step in finding a solution. But as individuals, we can at least do some tiny part to help. I just spent $120 at a local shop having my 31 year old Hoover upright vacuum cleaner reconditioned. It is an overbuilt machine that works fantastic still, was made in the USA, and while I could have just gone to Wal-mart and bought a brand new Chinasuck vacuum for $89.95 I instead chose what I feel is a more environmentally sound decision. And I'll bet this Hoover will still work after another 31 years and that new one would have long since died.
I'm sure my Hoover has no Energy Star rating (if there is such a thing on vacuum cleaners), and it probably had some paint process that the EPA banned back in the '80s, whatever, it still works. It won't end up in a land fill somewhere. I refuse to succumb to the disposable consumer goods methodology of living.