Why American Made Matters

Why American Made Matters

USA Made

American Made is more than just an anthem. It’s a growing movement of people who are conscientious “label readers” and look for the points of origin as the USA.

Customers ask for USA-Made products because they know American manufacturing is a big deal – it supports 17+ million jobs across the country and contributes over 12% to U.S. GDP/gross domestic product. (Source US Federal Trade Commission)

Buying products with the “Made in USA” label keeps jobs going, and our economy thriving. When you buy USA Made, you can be sure you’re getting American quality and not a cheap, foreign knock-off.  While it can be less expensive to buy products from foreign manufacturers, you can suffer in quality and safety.  There are a variety of reasons to Buy American, that aid our economy and the environment.

Why It’s Important to Buy USA Made

1. Supports Our Community – Buying American goods supports local manufacturers and entire communities as money goes into the local economy instead of being spent overseas. Every time you buy American, you help maintain the workforce in the USA and lower our reliance on other countries. Additionally, it also lowers our budget and trade deficit, increases national revenue, and stimulates our economy. Studies show 67% of adults in the United States would be willing to pay more for products to support American manufacturing. (Source Morning Consult poll)

 The main negative effect of outsourcing is that it increases U.S. unemployment. The 14.3 million outsourced jobs are more than double the 5.9 million unemployed Americans. (Source NAFTA) 

Since 2000, the United States has lost 32% of its manufacturing jobs. This percentage will continue to go up unless consumers start demanding more USA made goods. Since 1975, the US has imported more goods than it has exported. In 2010, the USA had a deficit of $478 billion in global trade. For every $1 billion in goods imported, the economy loses 9,000 jobs.

Once jobs move offshore, they rarely come back, creating a ripple effect for future generations.

2. Environmentally Friendly – When Americans buy from American manufacturers, it is usually more eco-friendly and sustainable. It creates a lower carbon footprint than foreign competitors as American manufacturers are held to higher federal and state regulations. It also uses less fuel, which means, fewer emissions are released into the air when shipping to its final destination domestically. 

Environmental standards can be minimal or even non-existent when products are made overseas. This has an impact for everyone on the planet. When it comes to protecting the environment, there is nothing that compares to America’s Clean Air Act. Most international regulations are far less stringent and international factories have no obligation to protect the environment.

Chinese imports accounted for more than 60% of the recalls announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2007. (Source Buy Direct USA)

The process of globalization has also inspired a counterculture movement that celebrates locally made rather than imported goods. This shift has cultivated a culture of “living local” where products and services within your city, state, or country are valued above those from other countries – most notably the push towards “Made in America” products. 

3. Ethical Labor Standards – In the USA federal and state labor laws ensure safe and fair work practices. Made in the USA ensures you are not contributing to sweatshops, child labor, slave labor, and dangerous working conditions.

Within the USA, OSHA has the power to both set and enforce health and safety standards and actively fines offenders.

Fair Trade USA – a label seen a lot if you’re a consumer in America. This is an American-based, for-profit certification that certifies individual products with strict guidelines about the social, environmental, and economic impacts of their certified products – and works with both producers, suppliers, workers, and farmers to ensure the product that is certified is truly ethical. Fairtrade puts people in the supply chain first, ensuring a better way of life for everyone involved. 

Reading the Label

Looking at the label is a start, but did you know there is a difference in USA Made and “Assembled” in the USA? USA Made means your product was Made in the USA, assembled means components came from another country or countries, but assembly took place stateside. 

Just because a product has an American flag sticker does not mean it is made in the USA. These stickers are actually not regulated by the U.S. government, so many companies use them as a “feel good” tactic.

Words matter. Here are a few common phrases used in marketing materials that can mean slightly different things. Look for products that say “Made in the USA” on product packaging, a website, or other marketing materials. The key part of that phrase is USA. What most people don’t know is that the phrase “Made in America” can also include Canada and Mexico, because of our free trade agreement (NAFTA) with those two countries.

By reading specific American-made claims of “made” or “assembled” you determine the origin. The word “Made” is typically more all-inclusive of both raw materials and processing. “Assembled” typically means that their production process is U.S.-based, but that they get materials and parts from overseas. In some industries, that can mean a lack of quality, or even worse, health risks.

Some companies may add modifiers to their “made in USA” claims because they cannot fully justify only saying “made in the USA.” This can mean that a good chunk of their production process is performed elsewhere, whether that is labor or materials. This is why it’s important to read the label.

An American Company

Pure and Natural Pet™ is proud to be an American Made Manufacturer of organic pet wellness & grooming products with headquarters in Norwalk, CT.  We are part of the Pet Sustainability Organization, Organic Trade Association, and certified with the USDA, Eco Cert, and Leaping Bunny (Cruelty-Free).

We are committed to USA Made and support American goods & manufacturing.