Made By Yankees » Made in USA concept

I found Made in USA and you can find it too! Fast!

Yankee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 07:25:49 +0000

First let us assume that we are a group of individuals interested in buying American Made products. We would like to buy american made products for several different reasons. Maybe, we are concerned with safety for our families, children, and pets. Maybe, we know Union workers who we would like to support. Maybe, we believe it will help keep the USA strong. Maybe, we have political agendas. Maybe, we just want to be loyal. At this point it doesn’t really matter. What matters is we are stuck with an incorrect perception.

So lets examine the situation
The perception that nothing is made in USA any more is very much incorrect.
Things are available and affordable from smaller companies.
We don’t know about these other products because we shop where the stuff is cheap.
The stuff is cheap because the major retailers buy it from overseas.
That doesn’t mean nothing is made in USA, it just means the large retailers aren’t buying it from US companies.
So in short, our perception is a reality, that was made for us by large retailers.

Next situation, If we can’t find Made in USA at the local retailer, how do we find out what is made in USA and how to get it? There are a number of websites that feature products made in USA and the Unions are very pro-active in supporting the goods they make. But, how does one actually get the information? If you have a computer, you search, and search, and search, and then search some more. Didn’t I just say there are websites that have this information? Oops, I forgot to share that some of the websites are stores that only contain products if the actual company has paid them to put the information on the website. Some websites are good resources but don’t provide all the information you need to actually find, or buy the product listed. Some websites are just down right confusing.

OK, so what if you don’t have a computer? How do you find Made in USA products? You go to the store and turn over every box on the shelf. Then you go to the next store and do the same thing. After you, computer user or not, go through these situations, you give up in desperation (unless you are Sara Bongiorni, then you wait for a year before you give up).

So what are you going to do about it?

Hey, did I say I was doing research? Ok, we’ve come full circle. Here’s the punch line. Soon, very soon, there will be a website. It will provide you the ability to search for any type of product that you are interested in, it will tell you who sells it and how to contact them! No, it won’t tell you how much it costs, if it’s the best value, or if there is a coupon available for it. I can’t do all the shopping!

Now you say, that will work for me, but what about Mom and Dad, they don’t even know how to turn the on computer let alone surf. Hopefully, we will take care of that by publishing the information and making a shopping handbook available to them!

So what’s in it for you? You want to buy Made in USA products and you are extremely busy and don’t have time to surf or turn over boxes. This website is going to allow you to Find products made in the USA FAST!

Questions?

What are your thoughts?

Yankee — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 01:20:31 +0000

Now we know the FTC guidelines. The majority of the the parts that are put into a product must be obtained from US sources. But what about these situations?

What do you think Made in the USA means….

Does Made in the USA mean everthing from raw materials to distribution?

What about a company owned by another country but has plants in the USA. For example, Toyota? If they have a plant here in the USA and employ citizens of the USA, should it be considered Made in the USA? The FTC says no if the majority of the parts aren’t made in the USA.

Does distrubtion by an american company count for any thing?
If it was made somewhere else and distributed here, doesn’t that mean US citizens have jobs?

What about Union labor, If an American company is unionized but physically in another company, is that a consideration for purchase? After all a Union would mean decent conditions and no children.

Are North American products close enough to be considered Made in USA?

Your turn to get the discussion going.

Perception is Reality – China made, not USA

Yankee — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 11:40:23 +0000

OK, I’m starting to understand why everyone thinks that “Nothing is Made in USA”. If you physically go to the retail store and check the labels, it really is hard to find something not labeled “Made in China”. I was shopping last evening and decided to pull a few boxes and see if I can find something Made in the USA. I’ve been researching, so I know a few brand names that should have had the label on it, guess what, I failed. If this is what happens everytime a consumer shops for any kind of product, then I certainly see why the perception “Nothing is Made in USA” is reality.

Mining websites for Made in the USA

Yankee — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:13:42 +0000

I’m doing a lot of research to find items made in the USA because as I said before… We make it, we just don’t know what it is or where to find it. I knew when I started looking that there would be a few struggles in finding made in the USA. But, the struggles aren’t exactly what I thought they would be. I’m having no problems finding made in usa items. Yesterday, I found hand tools made in usa and leather products made in the usa.

What I was surprised about is that when I contacted a company yesterday to ask them which products they make are actually made in the usa, I didn’t get a specific answer. “If you have a specific product and model number, we will be glad to look it up”. Don’t they know which of their own products are made in the USA? Or don’t they want to tell me?

The other surprise? When I contacted a retailer, they couldn’t tell me what products they have in their store that are made in usa. They would have to do a lot of research to gather that information….

I also contacted a manufacturer who declined to provide me their entire listing of made in usa products. Everything they made was made in the USA, why not share the information?

So what’s up? Either no one knows what is made in america or they don’t want to tell us what is made in usa. I guess I just keep plugging along with my research!

Nothing is Made in the USA

Yankee — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:42:10 +0000

The title of this post seems to be the sentiment of most people I talk to. Just last week I heard the comment “nothing is made in america anymore”. Only yesterday a family member was shopping for a gift. She wanted to buy a toy for a two year old and insisted that it be made in America. She was extremely frustrated because she couldn’t find a toy made in USA at Walmart.

I’m going to submit that the products are really available, we just don’t know what they are and where to find them. Here are some examples. Most of the products from major brands like Hasbro, Little Tikes, and Crayola are made in america.

So I challenge you to actually look at what you are buying. Share with us what you have found that is made in America. You can then challenge me. What would you like find made in the USA, that you can NOT find. I”ll help you find it!