Do you pay attention to where things are made? Have you noticed that American made items are few and far between? Really! Even things that are made by American companies are often made overseas.
The news is full of more and more companies closing. The biggest industry, our car makers are getting a lot of news coverage simply because of their size and so many companies produce materials that are used in the manufacturer. Unemployment is at it’s highest level in 25 years and yet we still don’t hear a lot about supporting American industry.
I think that two things need to happen. We need to start paying attention. We need to pay attention to where things are made. I think most people would be surprised to find how much is imported from other countries. And we need to start buying American made products whenever possible.
I challenge everyone reading this to pay attention. Before you buy something, take a look at where it was made. Chances are good that it was not made in the USA. If it wasn’t, look around and see if there is an American made product available. Check the price difference and if all possible, buy American.
If you have trouble finding American made products, here are a few websites that list American Made Products
American Made Products is a database of American made products. They list everything from pet products to crafts.
Still Made In the USA is a directory of American made products. They list accessories, clothing, toys, etc.
Buy American is a list of products that are American made. They have everything from office supplies to truck parts.
Local Harvest is a listing of farmers and growers across the US. You can buy direct and save by cutting out the middleman.
Americans Working is another listing of American made products.
All American Clothing is a list of clothing that is US made.
US Stuff is an alphabetical list of American made products.
We can support US workers and help keep them working. We can help our economy by buying American.
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I would take this even further, and say Buy Local – as it helps out your immediate area even more. I know the first thing in my grocery cart is Tillamook Cheese and Tillamook Ice Cream
Got to support my local dairy farmers especially since they just took a hit of 30% on their receipts for milk sold to the factory.
And most of my online gift giving is thru the Made In Oregon online store – great service and prompt delivery
Marci, I always try to buy local first. I love my local farmer’s market. And the pick your own farms that are in the area.
The thing is… it is cheaper to import some things, as opposed to make them at home in the USA. Which is the reason why… we import so many things. If it were cheaper for companies to make the products in the usa, they wouldn’t need to outsource it in other countries. That’s Capitalism for you though.
But yeah… if anytime we can buy American, it certainly would help.
Joey, You are absolutely right. It is cheaper to import most things. Foreign labor works for pennies on the dollar. The problem is that the more we export our labor, the less employment is available in the US. When I worked in corporate America, we outsourced our technical support to India. We could hire Indians with Doctoral degrees for thousands less per month than one non-degreed skilled worker in the US. The trainers loved to go over because you could buy designer clothes in India for pennies on the dollar there because that is where most of our clothes are made.
Cindy, unfortunately though that is a product of Capitalism. If companies moved their production from outside countries to the usa, we would see a substantial rise in product cost across the board for us here at home. While our income would remain the same. But… I am not an economist… so I may be wrong…. I wish things were different… and we didn’t have a high % of unemployment that we do right now.. but it’s a part of life I guess…. we have our ups and downs…. We just gotta stay strong… and come out on top like we Americans always do.