Donna Long

Thanks to my recent studies, I have become keenly aware that consumers have very little protection or guarantees due to us for products manufactured overseas. International Laws differ greatly from those here in the United States, and there is really no governing body that can enforce any penalties for us.

Since learning about the vulnerability that we expose ourselves to in buying foreign made products, I have started to look for American made products. Sadly, I am finding very few products out there. I suspect that there are items made in the U.S.A., but it is very difficult to find them because there is an appalling lack of advertising for them. One would think that at a time in our history when our country is on the verge of financial collapse, that we would make it a priority to keep our money in American pockets. If we all banded together and put money into American-made products, we could make a huge impact on our own economy. American based businesses would grow, putting more people to work, generating more money in paychecks, creating more dollars for spending, to cycle back to buying more and more American-made products.

I have paid very close attention to advertisements on the radio, television and in print. I just don’t see much in the way of American-made boasting in the media. I am curious. Does this indicate that there really is not much being manufactured in the United States anymore? Do our labor laws, including minimum wages, work against us because it drives the price point up to levels that just can’t compete with cheaper foreign made products? If the last is the real issue, and financially struggling American families feel too hard pressed to stretch their dollars that they absolutely cannot spend the extra to support our own country, then where will we, as a nation, end up? It seems to me that perhaps American manufacturing companies are missing a huge approach in marketing strategies.

Does the lack of advertising products as American-made indicate that Americans lack patriotism or confidence in our own manufacturing capabilities?

Graphic Credit:
Sabrina Segal