I'm a big believer of "trying" to buy US made products. But there are two problems with this philosophy: 1- these products almost always cost more than their imported counterpart. 2- most things aren't made in the US so choices available are very limited.
However there has been a resurgence of manufacturing in the US. I feel good when I see companies offering Made in USA products. Some companies are actually moving their factories back to the US from China. John Stewart highlights as much with the pool noodle, in a humorous way of course.
This weekend I read the story about LL Bean boots. Popular culture-types have created a huge demand for the classic Bean boots and the company is hiring more workers to fill the demand. That's fantastic.
5 years ago I bought a pair of the similar Bean rain boots that are the cheaper made in China version. They have been slowly falling apart since. I spoke with Bean customer service and they recognized that they've had quality problems with this version. I should have paid an extra $25 5 years ago for the US made boot. Next time I will.
Another company who's products I use is Mountainsmith. My very first product of theirs I bought years ago was US made, the subsequent 2 I bought were not. I recently saw on their website that they are consciously making a limited number of hip packs to help support US-based manufacturing. Great for them!
Nice to see this trend. Let's hope it sticks around. I'll try to write the occasional post that highlights some of these companies and their products that are Made in the USA.
Do you try and buy US Made? Are you willing to pay extra for this?
4 comments:
I try to buy "Made in Canada" products... Being Canadian and all.. ;) But I get what you're saying..I think everyone shoud support local economy as much as possible!
@~Carla~
I was really sad when my beloved Sorels switched from Made in Canada to Made in China.
We buy USA made when we can, even if it cost more we are willing to pay the extra to keep jobs in our country. But it is hard to find many things made here
@Debby
Every bit helps. I think we'll continue to see more and more things with Made in USA label on them. I hope so at least...
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