More things being recalled with the Made in China sticker, is not the main reason I bring this up. I was doing laundry last night, and I noticed that all our skullcaps have the Made in the USA tag on them.
I don't recall going out of my way to buy only these ones. Some of them are 10+ years old.I can remember going shopping with my mother. What I don't remember is if it was her influence or not that caused me to look at the labels and purchase only Made in the USA. But as years faded, the importance of such purchases went with them. Had it been merely the ideals of youth? Did the commercials influence me that much? I have never done an introspective of it. I did many thing in my youth that were considered tree hugging or loony.
Yet here I am 15 years later facing a dilemma.
I want to buy American, I want to buy local. I will admit that not everything made in this country is wonderful, some of it is junk. And there is the problem of not being able to be cheap or frugal because local items cost more.My husband's tools are made in the USA. They are very expensive, but they have lifetime warranties. If they break they are replaced, free. That makes it worth the price.
It has always frustrated me, even when I was not as concerned with the Made in Labels, when American companies outsourced to China, Taiwan, and Mexico. Probably because my family consists of blue collar workers. But we want cheaper products, we demanded cheaper products, and people wanted more money. This combination was discovered in outsourcing, and now we are stating to pay for it. Made in China no longer means inexpensive products.
Our homestead owns American made Vehicles, unfortunately they are not truly American, as many of the components are manufactured out of the country. Clothing with the label can be in a similar situation, as the fabric may not have come from the US, or the fiber does come from here and then it is pieced together overseas. Made Wholly in the USA is the new label that is needed for those of us that wish to buy only that. We will pay out the @$$ for it, that is also disheartening. But hey, our CEO's need to make that five hundred grand a year.
This soap box was made in Kansas, USA.
5 comments:
Do you remember when Walmart emphasised the Made in the USA thing? They had tv commercials and the signs in the store advertised Made in the USA.
Then, it just quietly fizzled away.
I tried to sponsor you for the blogathon & have heard nothing since :(
I have been thinking about the "made in the USA" thing too... I also remember when Walmart stressed that they sold items made in the US. When Sam Walton died so did that concept. I would like to buy more local stuff but have the same issues with higher prices and all that. Maybe now that all these problems have come up with the China stuff it will begin to open the eyes of this country's consumers.
If you're looking for American-made products, checi out www.shopforamerica.com. Thousands of US-made products form hundreds of American companies.
I hear ya! We've been looking more at the "Made in ..." labels, too. I buy most of my clothing from L.L. Bean - a Maine Company with a lifetime guarantee on their products. I was disheartened to look at the labels and see that the shirts I love so much were made in, not Brunswick, Maine where the L.L. Bean factory is, but in Taiwan. They make shoes in Brunswick. Unfortunately, I only wear my Birks, which are made in Germany ;) ... it's closer to here than China is, though :).
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