Lady Arrakis (love her) nailed it again. I searched the Internet for raw and sheet latex manufacturers and indeed – mostly China. It used to be Brazil, but it appeared that the cows trees (latex milk is taken from) can grow in Asia with pleasure and without the diseases they suffered in South America.
It reminds me the situation with freshwater pearls. Chinese farmers discovered that pearls cost more than rice, and since they had already got warm water, all what was left to be added to the equation were freshwater pearl mussels and some skills. The result – Chinese farmers produce tons of good quality pearls on their backyards and Japanese Akoya pearls are squeezed out of the market (unless they are Hanadama or hmmm … also made in China 😉 Yeah, compare the prices.
But back to latex. eBay was virtually drowning in various Chinese latex clothes. But should China go off business for a month because of Chinese New Year – and eBay is virtually empty. Currently eBay shows very few latex items if you search directly. And if you go to very few still online shops, you will see the following (rare):
Hello! Chinese New Year is coming and we will begin our holiday from 15th, January to 1st, February. Your orders will be sent out after we come back from our holiday. If you have any questions about our items, please leave us the message and we will reply to you once coming back from holiday. I’m sorry for the inconvenience which we bring to you. Wish you have a good time on shopping!
Or the following (more often):
Dear friends !
Thank you very long for our love ! From now on，Our sales department began to leave！But our plants are still at work！Have friends who pay for the goods payment，Please rest assured，Your order has begun production ，We will send to you as soon as possible !
Welcome you to contact us！We will get back to you within 24 hours of information ! To bring inconvenience , very sorry .
The automatic eBay notifier gives a date:
This seller is currently away until December 29, 2011, and is not processing orders at this time. You can add this item to your watch list to purchase later.
but it’s already January 20, and the shops are still dead. Is it a new eBay policy, or is latex not popular anymore, or did something happen with latex trees, or did the copyright owners get to the “borrowed” photos, or are they growing silicone chips on the backyard now, or is it indeed just a New Year?
China rules the fetish world. Whether it is latex, pearls or iPads…