There continues to be good news on the economy.  “Black Friday” retail sales were up almost 7% over the last several years’ results.  While you are buying gifts for loved ones, how much of an impact could you make on the economy if you made the choice to buy an American made product?

ABC News with Diane Sawyer had a, “Made in America Challenge” series this year for buyers to do their part to help the economy by choosing American made products.  They said if everyone spent $64 on an American item instead of an imported one, 200,000 jobs would be created. One family in Dallas who believed they bought mostly American, volunteered to let the news team remove all foreign made products from their home. The result? Their home was stripped bare with the only two items left, a kitchen sink and a glass vase.  They replaced everything with American products for somewhat more than the original cost, and had a better looking home they were happy with as a result.  They were proud of their kitchen remodeling knowing everything there was made in America.  ABC News revisited them recently, and they said they are committed to buy American for their Christmas gifts.

But did buying American made products really cost more in the long run?

I think it costs us more not to buy American.  Buying cheaper imported goods does not maintain our standard of living if people are unemployed as a result. We need to think of the story behind the products we purchase.   If it was made overseas, what corners did they have to cut to offset the expense of shipping?  If it is made here, you know a team of American employees from the bottom up were paid to produce the product, and that money flows into our economy.  The business filling orders will be hiring American workers, paying taxes on the wages and profit from the good sold, which pays for government services we all use.  We all benefit from purchasing, Made in America.

Recently Cook Remodeling and Custom Construction was asked if we want to buy imported bathroom vanities for considerable less cost than our American cabinet suppliers.  They said in their sales pitch, ‘this is what the big box stores sell, so if you want to compete….’ We turned them down.  We would rather offer American, and know that all people involved were paid fairly, working in healthy conditions and using environmentally conscientious practices.  We’ve compared our eco-friendly remodeling products with what is made for the big box stores, and found our products to be of higher quality. When homeowners remodel, we want their new kitchen remodeling or bathroom remodeling to last a long time. We want their home to be a healthy living environment.

Consumers drive the market, and can set standards.  If more people bought American products for Christmas and beyond, it would be an investment in our economy. Make the effort to keep looking until you find the, Made in America label.  As the demand increases, so will the supply, and so will the number of Americans with jobs, and the economy will improve.  If an item is foreign made, ask the salesperson to show you one made in America.  Do a little research online—I found many websites that list American made products.  Here are a few:

www.petriot.com  well organized, ten main categories with sub categories

madehereinamerica.com over 25 categories, can sort by state, has a news feed

americanmadeproducts.com  over 9000 products

www.americansworking.com has site search engine, can search by state, many products

www.usaonly.us  753 businesses in 20 categories

madeinusaforever.com 13 categories with 2800 products

Have you found any that you recommend?

You don’t need to go out and spend, just make your planned purchases be for American products and you’ll help make our economy stronger!  It’ll be a gift that keeps on giving.

Happy, Made in America Home Remodeling!