Just a twist on the old chestnut.
Do you know how difficult it IS to buy American made products? For example, I’ve been looking for a new purse. Even when I’ve found companies that manufacture here in the states, at least some of their production has been outsourced…to China and Mexico… Except for a precious few private leatherwork shops.
Dooney & Bourke, for example, used to be made here in the U.S.A. and their hang tags reflected that. Now, many models of the bags are manufactured in China. I’ve emailed them asking exactly which models are still manufactured here in the U.S., but as of yet no reply.
My Coach purse bears ‘Made in China‘ on the inside tag in large letters. It’s making me sick.
One company I have heard from is KONG. I think I wrote about buying a Kong made in China after reading that they are made in the United States. To clarify the subject for everyone, this is what I just received:
Hi Pam,
Thank you for your question regarding the country of origin for KONG toys and treats. All Classic KONG natural rubber products are made in the US and have been for over 30 years. All KONG Stuff’N Treats are made in the US and are manufactured in FDA and USDA/APHIS approved factories. All ingredients are of US origin with one exception: rice flour from Italy. Additionally, all KONG Stuff’N treats are tested for quality assurance by independent USDA approved laboratories. Together these lines represent over eighty percent of all KONG products.
The remaining KONG products: Air KONG (tennis ball toys), KONG Plush, and KONG Wubba are made in China. These factories are under strict KONG supervision and have proven to produce reliable and safe products. All imported product lines are tested by independent laboratories, once in China and again in the US to prove they are safe and non-toxic. Once products are received in the KONG warehouse they are again subjected to strict KONG quality control procedures to further ensure our KONG products are the finest available. No KONG product, toy or treat has ever been involved in a recall.
Best,
Brent Voorhees
KONG Company
16191 Table Mountain Parkway
Golden, CO 80403
www.kongcompany.com
I’m glad to know this… as for being under strict supervision, I don’t care. I’m over it. It sounds crazy, but every time I look at something and it says ‘made in China’ I get a little angrier. I just looked at my Elmer’s gluestick. Yep. I just threw away all 3 nasty little dollar store things I got from the school ‘drive’ because they all said ‘mic’.
There’s no way I can get totally away from MIC, but I can do the best I can.
We don’t manufacture here anymore… not really. This will come back to bite us even harder than it already has. But there you go… everyone wants a bargain. There are no bargains when you manufacture here because after paying for the American worker and the American quality control - it isn’t likely you can charge a minimum price for a product.
All the people who go out looking for the low price instead of where it’s made - they are generally the same people who scream when they think “the company” they work for isn’t paying them enough.
yada yada yada… anyone who knows their Econ 101 knows that quality and decent wages are costs. When the customer won’t pay those costs, but goes to a cheaper source - they do get what they pay for… they also run good businesses out of the country.