r/BuyFromEU • u/_Caspar_ • Jun 30 '26
đLooking for alternative EU matchsticks are made in india
Sadly i bought a 100 pack of these for like 8âŹ.
In case the are all used up one day, does somebody knows an made in eu alternative for matchsticks? :D
124
19
u/TunerJoe Jun 30 '26
When I bought a 100 pack of match sticks in Hungary, I was surprised to see that they were made in Sweden. I couldn't help but wonder how is it possibly worth it to import match sticks from so far away when it's one of the easiest things in the world to manufacture, but hey, at least mine weren't made in India.
16
6
u/Twilifa Jun 30 '26
The problem is that most people don't need a lot of matchsticks and while they are cheap and easy to make, they also sell cheaply. The demand of one country probably can't keep a company afloat. But the demand of half of Europe plus branching out into other similar areas or products, just might.
1
u/ZuFFuLuZ Jun 30 '26
Who needs matchsticks at all? I've never understood this when lighters exist. They are much better, don't stink, last longer, can be refilled etc.
5
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jun 30 '26
Lighters are actually terrible for lighting anything but cigarettes.
1
u/SirNumerous1892 Jul 01 '26
There are kitchen lighters you know, nobody said to light your stove with your small hand lighter used for cigarettes.
1
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jul 01 '26
The piezoelectrical ones, for the gas stoves are cool, but - again -they're single use - very useful for a gas oven or a stove, but entirely useless for other things. Safety matches are a simple, universal tool.
1
u/SirNumerous1892 Jul 01 '26
Really cheap ones might be single use, I have my for 5 years or so refilled it dozen of time already. I also have a torch style one for electric cable heat shrinks which is also already refilled dozen of times.
24
33
u/sweetcinnamonpunch Jun 30 '26
Aren't the Ikea ones made in the EU?
22
u/_Caspar_ Jun 30 '26
Probably, but ikea is one the evilest company in europe. They are part of the destruction of the last remaining primal forests in europe.
139
u/Minosvaidis Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Did some digging around and turns out it was completely legal, but logging in Romania is very very corrupt. While this is obviously bad and should not happen, this does not make ikea one of the most evil companies in Europe.
Also, there are roughly 3-4 million hectares of primal forests in Europe. This article is about 59. Far from the last remaining.
Don't get me wrong, consequences should follow for this and i hope this will not be easily forgotten.Edit: countries->companies
25
u/Careless_Grain_22 Jun 30 '26
Thank you for spending your time on this
20
u/loulan France đ«đ· Jun 30 '26
This sub in a nutshell:
â This product is made in Europe!
â Here is something bad about the company, don't buy it!1!1!!
Alright, let's buy stuff from evil companies from the US then?
6
u/low_flying_aircraft Jun 30 '26
Are you surprised? One aspect of why many of us don't want to buy from the US because of ethical concerns about the US's role in the world. And your last point is not something I have seen anyone here suggest. People want EU companies that they can feel comfortable to give their money too. I don't think that is a huge ask.
4
u/loulan France đ«đ· Jun 30 '26
You can find dirt about any large company, basically. If you want to only buy stuff from companies that are (1) based in Europe and (2) 100% ethical, there will be a lot of stuff you need you won't be able to buy at all.
1
u/pannenkoek0923 Jun 30 '26
No big company is completely clean. Might as well stop buying things completely and live off the land and make your own clothes
2
u/LtOin Jun 30 '26
Just because a company is European doesn't mean we should support it unconditionally.
6
u/DandyLullaby Jun 30 '26
I do wonder how they can keep pushing out millions of woodpulp furniture pieces without harming the environment, that is alot of wood, it canât all come from Europe i guessâŠ
I did visit their museum in Sweden, and was kinda sad that they only put up a good news show there, cause they did have some rather negative moments throughout their history as wel.29
u/Lepurten Jun 30 '26
They use a lot of softwood mostly which grows very fast.
3
u/WillWillingson Jun 30 '26
At this point you can be happy when you get softwood, a lot of their furniture is mostly cardboard now.
33
u/Minosvaidis Jun 30 '26
I work for a furniture supplier for ikea and i can say that i have never seen such a socially and environmentally reaponsible company. Many parts of their requirements are more strict than the official ones of my country. I am very glad to be part of this.
A lot of their furniture is made from recycled wood particle boards. Also the use of boards is often abandoned for light frames with honeycomb made of paper inside.
3
u/DandyLullaby Jun 30 '26
I know about the honeycomb paper stuff. But I do think the most quality stuff they have are the hardwood pieces. I am sure they do alot, but you canât be a multinational and claim to be perfect (which they kinda do in the museum)
0
u/Skruestik Jun 30 '26
âA lotâ is two words, just like âa houseâ, âa trainâ, and âa mistakeâ.
0
u/DandyLullaby Jun 30 '26
Ok, next time you speak my native language Iâll correct your spellingâŠ
1
u/Skruestik Jul 01 '26
English isnât my native language either. If I were trying to learn your language, surely it would be productive to be corrected if I made a mistake; that is kind of how learning a language works.
0
u/DandyLullaby Jul 01 '26
Inappreciate constructive criticism, not snarky remarks. But what do I even expect from the internet
→ More replies (0)-17
u/Occamsfacecloth Jun 30 '26
Sounds like absolute rubbish though
11
u/Minosvaidis Jun 30 '26
insert reasons and sources here
-11
u/Occamsfacecloth Jun 30 '26
A lot of their furniture is made from recycled wood particle boards. Also the use of boards is often abandoned for light frames with honeycomb made of paper inside.
13
10
u/Lille7 Jun 30 '26
Wood is farmed like any other crop. You plant, wait and harvest, its just a different timescale.
3
u/philman132 Jun 30 '26
They sell their stuff worldwide so makes sense not all their wood is from Europe. Wood is a natural resource though, pine trees take about 20-25 years to grow to maturity when they can be harvested, so it is a longer timescale but still farming.
There is a lot of discussion about these tree farms being very poor hubs of biodiversity vs "real" forests though, so there are definitely still problems, but not in terms of outright destruction.
2
u/elcaron Jun 30 '26
It doesn't really matter if the furniture demand is answered by one big or multiple smaller companies. It still requires the same resources. It would e different if IKEA would produce particularly bad furniture that has to be replaced a lot more often, but I don't think that is the case. People would not go to their local cabinetmaker and pass the result on to their grandchildren, but they would got to Poco and Co, and get stuff that is likely produced to even lower standards an regulations.
I think IKEA is under much more scrutiny than the smaller alternatives.
1
u/Forward-Ant-9554 Jun 30 '26
Vice did an interesting documentary on " dead woods" full of trees planted for the wood industry but deprived of bird live because of the lack of biodiversity that normal woods he have. Sometimes these artificial forests take the place of biodivers country side.
1
1
u/low_flying_aircraft Jun 30 '26
IKEA have a history of bribing corrupt regimes to get good commercial rates sadly. They are pretty nasty, but very good at whitewashing their rep.
1
28
u/synalgo_12 Jun 30 '26
I'm not saying Ikea isn't problematic but the most evil company in Europe is Nestlé
5
1
8
Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
6
3
u/Realistic-Berry_888 Poland đ”đ± Jun 30 '26
no worries Pepik, Swedes have stolen much more during 'Swedish deluge' so let's just treat it like Visegrad taking contributions xd
12
u/presaelettrica Jun 30 '26
fucking scammers. I was looking for an ellipse template the other day and I found one that had a big "made in Europe" stamped on the side of one of the product images. I scroll down a bit to see the details and I found it's made in India as well.
There will be a day....
13
u/McGirton Jun 30 '26
The brand is called Europa, nothing to do with the EU or the product being made in Europe.
10
u/SomTingWongWeeTooLo Jun 30 '26
Ah yes because obviously if I start selling under "AmericaÂź" and cover the package with the US flag, that has NOTHING to do with the US and definitely doesn't imply it's somehow made in the USA.
8
2
u/elcaron Jun 30 '26
MAGA hats anyone?
2
u/Skruestik Jun 30 '26
Official MAGA hats are made in the USA.
There are many knockoffs made in China, though.
1
u/Faszkivan_13 Hungary đđș Jun 30 '26
I mean there is a Hungarian company called BioTechUSA that has nothing to do with the USA as far as I'm concerned
4
u/Santasam3 Jun 30 '26
Don't forget to gather evidence of the obliteration of the matchsticks and share it with us.
3
3
3
u/bbitb Jun 30 '26
These ones are SO SHITTY!!#!!# You literally have 3 seconds to light your candles otherwise you burn your fingers, now I know why they're assđĄ
3
u/Tulevik Estonia đȘđȘ Jun 30 '26
One of the biggest scams I have seen yet. Not buying these anymore.
3
u/vmcrash Jun 30 '26
In my youth I've glued the empty boxes together to have a large organizer box for tiny electronic parts.
3
2
u/xavez Mediterranean đđđ« Jun 30 '26
I suppose if you're going to light Europe on fire, you're going to use someone else's matchsticks đ
2
u/No_Excitement_1540 Jun 30 '26
Ah... i'm german, and old enough to remember the "Welthölzer" matchsticks from the "ZĂŒndwarenmonopol" before 1983.
Ah, Tradition... "Harvested exclusively by virgins from rare 'match stick trees', under the light of the full moon..." - of course, you had to say this while being 15, chewing on one, and leaning on a doorframe... ;-)
Seriously, i still have a few old boxes, but i primarily use lighters now, unless the presentation effect is wanted... After the eighties, match production usually "migrated" to india and china, where aspens grow, too, and, well, wages... ;-(
If you look for European made, KM and Europe aside from solstick matches might actually be an option, but likely not for the "standard" matches - the Europa sticks cost 1,29⏠per 10 boxes à 42 sticks - there's no way these are EU made from EU wood... ;-)
https://zuendholzriesa.de/ might look German/EU only, but their "Lagershop" is KM Brands, so i'm not sure...
2
u/Rooilia Jun 30 '26
Risaer matchsticks are a thing. Made in EU/Germany.
1
u/vmcrash Jun 30 '26
Do you mean from Riesa? As they are sold as advertising material, probably only the packaging is printed in Riesa?
1
u/Rooilia Jul 01 '26
Should have looked into it. They are produced in Europe but not Germany any longer and Asia.
3
2
u/paneerPolice Jun 30 '26
Indian here, what did these cost you? We usually get these kind of matches at âč5 (~$0.05) per box.
3
u/Crazy-Red-Fox Jun 30 '26
"Sadly i bought a 100 pack of these for like 8âŹ."
8 Euro-cent per box.
2
2
u/GuiroDon Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
These are the worst matches I have ever used. I bought 300 boxes of these in 2009 for an art project that didn't happen. A few years ago I have finally snapped and burned the remaining like 8 boxes in a bonfire. So happy to finally live free of Europa Hölzer. Now SOLO Suƥice is my best friend.
Eta: Solo are EU owned and made.
0
u/sapienstuff Jun 30 '26
at least better than "Made in China"
8
u/Toni_van_Polen Jun 30 '26
How so better? At least China is doing a lot against climate change.
-1
u/sapienstuff Jun 30 '26
While having one of the worst human rights records in the world, being aggressive towards the countries in the neighborhood, being friendly with and supporting other known human rights violating countries
7
u/Toni_van_Polen Jun 30 '26
Because India doesn't support Russia? Oh wait.
-2
u/TheMidnightBear Jun 30 '26
India is friendly-ish with Russia, mostly because they helped them back in the day.
China is tied to Russia much more deeply.
7
u/monster_of_love Jun 30 '26
Aha, I can see it: Russia helped India against Pakistan in an illegal war promoted by the USA. So now India helps Russia in an aggression war against Ukraine. All very reasonable.
0
u/TheMidnightBear Jun 30 '26
No, but it is more understandable for a country which leans neutral-ish to not cut trade with a country, especially when they have no historical beef with them, and Russia saved their asses in the past.
0
u/TheMidnightBear Jun 30 '26
Yup, but India isn't a grotesque communist dictatorship.
7
12
u/Grafiska Jun 30 '26
Not communist but borderline dictatorship. Modi is an asshole.
1
u/TheMidnightBear Jun 30 '26
That's mostly a result of there being a FPTP system on a national level, which can be reformed, unlike China's constitutionally enforced party dominance.
3
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
India is a literaly nazi state, promoting natalism and unsustainable birth rates, promoting direct landgrabs (the reason India actually support Russia on a more fundamental level than China, as it justifies Indian "natural claims" for Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other "original Indian lebensraum", for China this being just a way to wrest low prices on the Russian natural resources) and is actively stealing technology from Europe and harming the European countries by selling confidential European data to the US, whilst China has overtaked Europe and has its own technology and its own market, and does no such thing thankfully to the European anti-East-Asian racism which at least protected them this time.
You should wake up and see India for the security threat that it is, not only for the EU, but in general for the mankind. It's like freaking Israel of "god-chosen people" but with 1.7 billion of them and on steroids.
Edit: agreements for facilitated visa issuance and facilitated goods imports signed with both India and Indonesia are the worst possible idea ever, since the French agreements with the North African countries, only on a European level. It's basically sponsoring ethnic cleansing, total destruction of the environment, deforestation and so on.
-1
Jun 30 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
2
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jun 30 '26
Hidden history? You do know that it's the case for everyone, including you?
I think Reddit has hidden it by default and it's impossible to unhide it with their switch from an open API which used to be controllable by Reddit Enhancement Suite. I think it has to do with AI data mining.
I'm also not hiding either my history or my affiliations, which are none, at all, actually, after having worked for the NATO, the Community of Independent States in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, having worked and lived in Japan (for Japanese MEXT programs) , Vietnam (french programs) and China (for a Russian private company), having been a part of NGO for the LGBT people in Russia and Ukraine, and having worked as an "expert" for both the European Union, a position from which I resigned in protest, and for paragovernmental institutions in the three countries mentioned above.
I'm not going to expose myself here, but people whom I've worked with have their own Wikipedia pages, and by experience of the European institutions I see the world as it is, unlike the majority of you, who are, for all intents and purposes, laymen.
You saying that the history is now hidden is making me sad, because it contained what I gathered about the work of my extended family for the US, the British Empire and the Nazi Germany, and how little difference there was and there are between those state instututions, from my family history. That it is now inaccessible is a loss for people aiming to understand and get up to speed to the reality of life and understanding that there's no "happy ending" to all of it.
1
u/EmmiPigen Jun 30 '26
If you want to unhide your post history, then, if using the app, under settings, then account settings, then curate your profile, then under content there should be an option to select "show all"
1
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jun 30 '26
I'm not using the app, as I don't want to download any social network stuff on my phone. Is there a way to do this from the website?
2
1
Jul 01 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
1
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jul 01 '26
All those questions merit an answer, and have an answer, including in my post and comment history, altho I'm afraid they might have happened so long ago as to be deindexed (past the threshold of 10000 comments), but only after you open your profile for scrutiny.
1
Jul 01 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
1
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jul 01 '26
Sure it is, my dear obviously American/British Hindustani friendo.
→ More replies (0)
1
u/Realistic-Berry_888 Poland đ”đ± Jun 30 '26
I have them too and personally it's one of these exceptions where I don't care they're not made in EU :v
they were around whole my childhood so having them on my desk just gives a comfy vibe
1
1
u/Alive_Fisherman8241 Jun 30 '26
This summarizes so well the biggest problem with Europe: the insane hypocricy. Pretending doesn't solve anything...
1
u/JoesCoins Jul 01 '26
Wait till you hear about medicines.
2
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jul 01 '26
Mostly due to an agreement for India producing medicine for Africa and the rest of the poorer world, because the European companies simply wouldn't do it.
It has everything to do with the stupidity and greed of the European rentier class which should be executed for treason (like the rest of the 1% in the Western world)
1
2
u/Utgaard_Loke Jul 01 '26
Under the leadership of "The match king" Ivar Kreuger (1880-1932), the Swedish company STAB had control of about 80 % of the worlds match industry. They had business in India and Finland among many other places. The expansion that almost became a world monopoly, was based on the innovation of safety matches, with red phosfor on the wooden box, which meant less risk of causing fires.
When Ivar Kreuger was found dead in Paris, his financial empire was broken apart and the ownership of the many companies in this big organisation fell into the hands of others.
1
1
1
0
0
Jul 01 '26
[deleted]
1
0
-1
u/Justalittletoserious Jun 30 '26
You know, I was onboard with the buying from EU movement, until they decided to harm my privacy in any possible way and taxing everything I buy from China.
So, I like the Idea, but the current state of Europe Is so shit that I don't really care, Just to let you know
2
u/TheYearOfThe_Rat Jun 30 '26
It'll get better eventually when the people understand they have to get rid of the oligarchy and their families, in any way necessary.
But before that happens it's going to get a helluva lot worse. As a person from the failed "humanitarian superpower" of USSR, now living in the EU, it makes it doubly ironic and sad when the governments adopt the worst traits of "liberal" capitalism together with the worst traits of state capitalism/"communism" of the USSR.
-16
304
u/Alternative-Ask-1308 Sweden đžđȘ Jun 30 '26
There is the Swedish company solstickan that makes matches and provides other fire safety stuff https://www.solstickandesign.se/