Buy American. It's Easier Than You Think.

[Tricia]

Normally this would go into the private area of Websleuths so we could chit chat about it but I feel this is important enough for everyone to read.

Every day I get about 12 million emails. Most of them trying to convince me that Obama is Beelzebub and such. They go in the trash. This one is fantastic.

Please note I did not write this so when it says, "I" it is referring to the original author of the email and not me.

One Light Bulb at a Time​

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would . With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American ..

Good idea .. . . one light bulb at a time . . . .​

Check this out . I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for
some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments . They were all made in China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking ..

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job . So, after reading this email, I think this
lady is on the right track . Let's get behind her!

My grandson likes Hershey's candy . I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more .

My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico ... now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything ..

This past weekend I was at Kroger . I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets . I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value . " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats -they were the same except for the price ..

The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO
and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA in
a company in Cleveland , Ohio.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that
are made right here ..

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . .. . yep, you guessed it,
Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value
brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday
and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the
job you save may be your own or your neighbors! If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies

(We should have awakened a decade ago .. . .. . . . )

Let's get with the program . . . .. help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U . S . A ..

 

[gaia227]

Besides the reasons mentioned above another good reason to buy American made products is many times when you purchase items from India or China those items are being made by people being paid slave wages or by child workers. These are American companies who are outsourcing because they can pay dirt cheap wages and if you refuse to buy those products maybe some day those jobs will come back to the states. The garment industry used to produce 90% of garments sold in the US in the US in the 60's. Today less than 5% of clothing sold here is made in America. It is made is sweat shops in places like India while US garment workers are on welfare and unemployment because they cannot find any work. It was at the Chudberry factory in India a couple years ago when a fire broke out and all the women inside were trapped because they had been LOCKED IN to ensure they did not take breaks or use the bathroom. That factory was owned by an american company who had outsourced their labor to these women who were making less than .30 a day. Dozens of women were found dead piled by the door because they were trying to get out. It is reminiscent of the fire here in NYC in the 1920's when a garment factory caught on fire and the women coud not get out because of the same reason. They were forced to jump from several stories to their death. Up until 9/11 it was the worst tragedy in NYC history. It is great those things are not happening here anymore but not so great the problem has been outsourced along with labor.

I always look to see if products are made in the USA for those reasons mentioned above and a few others. The only way to stop the outsourcing of labor by big companies to make money by paying slave wages as opposed to legitimate wages to Americans who need the work is to stop buying their products.

 

[RLynne]

Some companies would get around this by putting "Made in the U.S." labels on items produced in U.S. territories, where employment standards that we take for granted are *not* in place (e.g., very low minimum wage, no overtime protections, etc.). I was always told to look for the union label for this reason!

Luckily, this has changed for the better, and the 2007 Fair Minimum Wage Act is slowly phasing the minimum wage in U.S. Territories up to federal levels. Not sure about other labor laws, though.

 

[SuziQ]

Alot of products, especially big named ones, have their USA distribution addresses on their packages and do not say where the product was actually made. It's tricky.

 

[Native New Yorker]

Can anyone recommend a milk chocolate made in the USA? My package of Hershey bars says "Mfd by the Hershey company" but does not say where....
I also object to Mexico due to climate! I lived in the South for quite a few years, and bugs are much more prevalent.

A different product- Scrapbooks! I have used the Creative Memories books, but they are expensive. But they are made in the USA, and I have even found them at garage sales. I went to Target today, to look at their scrapbooks, and they were ALL made in China, very junky, and not even that cheap. So I am looking on eBay for Creative Memories scrapbooks!

 

[jon_burrows]

Great Topic!

I've been trying to buy American products for several years now. It's getting very hard. I tried to buy Christmas lights last year (mine were packed away) and I could not find one strand in any store that wasn't made in China. Most of them had lead warnings on them too. My Christmas lights are still packed up (doing more renovating) and are probably made in China anyway. If anyone can find American made Christmas lights please PM me. I refuse to by lights that have a warning to wash your hands after touching them.

I couldn't find an American made hair dryer last year either. I ended buying one from Italy because it had all kinds of safety info (no lead, etc) but it cost over $100.00.

It would be nice if there was a 'Made in the USA' web site that points to American made products. I would say 95% of what I pick up today is made in China.

 

[jon_burrows]

Can anyone recommend a milk chocolate made in the USA? My package of Hershey bars says "Mfd by the Hershey company" but does not say where....
I also object to Mexico due to climate! I lived in the South for quite a few years, and bugs are much more prevalent.

A different product- Scrapbooks! I have used the Creative Memories books, but they are expensive. But they are made in the USA, and I have even found them at garage sales. I went to Target today, to look at their scrapbooks, and they were ALL made in China, very junky, and not even that cheap. So I am looking on eBay for Creative Memories scrapbooks!

I think Ghirardelli is still made in the US. I'll check out a label next time I'm in the store.

 

[LovingTheChaos]

Check your batteries too - Duracel are made in the USA, I am sure others are not.

Another reason to buy USA, it is better for the environment.

1) Mexican & overseas factories do not have to abide by environmental laws the way US factories do. This means products produced are worse for the earth.
2) Shipping those products from far away places is also worse for the environment than products that are made in the USA.

 

[LovingTheChaos]

BTW - avoid Walmart if you want to find products made in the US.

 

[chicoliving]

My local news had this website featured a few weeks ago

http://www.madeinusa.com/?action=showd&page=home

 

[Salem]

I have been working on buying only American, including groceries, for the past 6 months or so - and WOW! It is not an easy thing. I am amazed. Sometimes I give in, but I absolutely will not buy anything from China.

I am also trying not to deal with any company that "outsources" it customer service to other countries.

This has really only become a concern since I became unemployed and started looking at the job market. I used to think it was great to outsource some employment opportunities so that other countries could increase their economic position. However, since my economic position has been severely decreased - I no longer think this. Maybe when I'm back in the green again


Salem

 

[heartfortruth]

BTW - avoid Walmart if you want to find products made in the US.

(snipped a bit)

This is sad because in it's earlier days, when SAM was heading up things, their big "motto" was "made in the USA".........I used to love W/M when it was so "American" and not so "too big for it's britches" ........it has changed so much I now try to avoid it.

Have been TRYING to shop "USA" for a long time but it gets trickier and trickier (as another poster said)

more "helpful hints" here, please!:unksam: