Kikkerland Design

Recently I bought a double kitchen timer from Kikkerland Design, in mint green. For some reason our microwave doesn't have a timer feature, and I was getting tired of needlessly heating up Pyrex dishes of water. So we got the timer. Alas, even designer items such as this one are made in China these days. So I sent the following email Sunday August 3rd:

Subject: Double Timer, Mint

As a conscientious consumer I am attempting to make more of my purchasing decisions based on the ethical and environmental practices of the companies who produce the products I buy. To that end, I have a few questions related to the Double Kitchen Timer, Mint color, that I recently purchased. I understand that I am asking a lot - the more information you can provide for me, the more comfortable I will be purchasing Kikkerland products in the future.

1) How much do you know about the working conditions under which your products are made? How do they compare to North American standards?

2) Are you certain no children were employed in the manufacturing or distribution of the double timer I bought?

4) How familiar are you with the environmental impacts of your manufacturing processes? Are you sure the raw materials used in your products are produced or harvested ethically?

5) What are you doing to improve the living conditions in the areas where your products are produced?

Thank you in advance for your time,

Jared

Yesterday, August 11th, I got the following reply:

*** UPDATE 8/15/08 *** Laura asked me to take down her initial email, as she only meant it to be an acknowledgment that a response was forthcoming. The official reply is above.

I was impressed, especially since it's been like a month and several reminder emails and I still haven't heard anything from Memorex. Maybe they'll surprise me. Although the email doesn't contain any specific details, it's satisfying to know that my concerns were heard and appreciated.