I’ve recommended this sight as a place to begin. I did not come up with a lot of choices for zippers. It’s sad because the Talon zipper was made 15 miles from my house. I’m not sure if they make them in the US any more or not. Their website is not forthcoming. Though they reference locations in ohio and a few other states.. The plant in Meadville is closed down.

Fashionfabricsclub

While Nationwide Alarm LLC Alarm Systems USA indicated that most of their systems are assembled in Mexico, Silent Knight Fire Alarm Panels are Made in teh USA.

They say… “Please visit our website and click on the fire alarm link for further information. You can also visit www.alarmax.com which is where we obtain most of our inventory, and click on the line card link to further search manufactures equipment specs. Reliant Systems likes to use the Silent Knight panels and System Sensor peripherals.” Reliant Systems

After more than a year answering search requests from consumers, MadeByYankees staff has learned that the savvy consumer wants more information. We have been asked questions like, is that product Union made? Is it organic? Some folks have asked if the products we list are made from 100% domestic raw materials. Others would like to know if the companies making these products are being conscientious with our environment.

Because we respect your interests in “Made in USA” products, we are attempting to make this information available to you. However, as with all other tasks related to gathering “Made in USA” product information, it’s not simple to gather accurate information or present it in a clear and concise manner.

We believe, you can help us understand exactly what information you want to see.

Continued…
In the next paragraph, I’ll explain the anticipated changes to our site with regard to providing more information for each product. Then, we will review each specific situation. Last, I will ask for your input on how to move forward with providing the information you want to see.

If you search a product on our search page Search Page your results will include square ‘check’ boxes to the right of each product description. Each check box represents product criteria. We have check boxes indicating 100% Raw Materials, 100% Manufactured, 100% Assembly, 100% American Owned, Union Made, Green/Recycled, and Organic.

It all seems so simple.
It all seems simple enough on the surface. However, defining each of these items is a cumbersome process. Let’s start with the easy ones.

Union Made: Either the manufacturer has a unionized factor or they don’t. Simple enough, if they do have a unionized factory, we will mark the check box. If they don’t, we won’t.

Green/Recycled: This category is a bit more complicated. However, since our main goal is not to specifically identify environmentally friendly companies, we will simply ask if the company if they normally proclaim themselves to be environmentally friendly.

Organic: Same idea with the organic criteria. If the company proclaims their product to be organic then we will mark the check box.

It’s more complex then you think!
The more complex criteria include 100% American Owned, 100% Assembly, and 100% Raw materials sourced from USA.

100% American Owned: This criteria will need to be changed to read simply “American Owned”. Determining the percentage owned by American’s would result in a time consuming effort that could never be verified. But yet, providing this detail will give you additional information to help you make an informed decision.

100% Assembly: Though most products claiming to be “Made in USA” are 100% assembled in the USA some are not. Some products are actually manufactured in the US and sent to a foreign country for assembly. The Hunter Fan brand is an example of this. Currently, the Hunter Fan brand is not listed in our database as it does not meet the strict MadeByYankees criteria. Including assembly information will allow the Hunter Fan Brand to be added to our database as the assembly criteria will be clearly marked, again assisting you in making informed decisions. As a side note, ceiling fans “Made in USA” are difficult to find. The Hunter brand is the ceiling fan that comes closest to the “Made in USA” label, but yet is not listed in our database.

100% Manufactured in the USA: Again this criterion seems to be straight forward, if the product is 100% manufactured in the USA then the check box would be marked. If some part of it is manufactured elsewhere, the check box would stay blank. An example is the Lasko box fan. The fan is manufactured and assembled in the USA with motors that were manufactured and assembled elsewhere.

100% Raw materials from the USA: This is the criteria that is the most difficult to deal with. Manufacturers that are listed in our database are indicating that though their products are mostly made of raw materials from the US, it is very difficult to have the product 100% domestic raw materials. If we use the term 100% domestic raw materials, I anticipate a large number will not be marked as such. This may give the impression that products not marked are not using a good deal of raw materials from the USA. That is simply not true. Those listed on our site are using a very high percentage of domestic raw materials; they are just unable to finish their product without that one small component which is either not made in the USA at all or is too costly to purchase from an American company.

If we change the criteria to read “Raw Materials from the USA” leaving off the 100%, then you have no idea how much of the materials are from the USA. This designation might result in more questions than answers. However, MadeByYankees would then need to use the often unclear FTC regulations. Those regulations include language such as “the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content” as well as “the cost of the raw materials and how far removed from the finished product is must also be considered.”

Now it is your turn.
Are all seven of the criteria important to you?
Which are not important?
Are there other pieces of information you would like?
Are you satisfied with our approach to the 100% Assembly and 100% manufactured criteria?
How would you like to see the 100% Raw Material criteria handled?

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