Do your part in supporting our economy - Buy American!

I can think of two right off the bad and sadly, they are both in trouble. Lenox China filed for Chapter 11 in November and is the last of the great American porcelain manufacturers. The other is Mackenzie Childs of aurora New York. MC has already been bankrupt once and is hanging by a thread. They make wonderful, whimsical, high quality and highly collectible modern majolica. If Americans would stop buying the cheap crap coming from Chian and Taiwan and put some money into some nice pieces from these two companies, they would have something beautiful, usable and collectible instead of fodder for the town dump.

Many celebrities and professional athletes have their products made over here. I can't think of any particular ones right off of hand. However, a lot of the items sold at like Dollar Trees/Fred's are made in America.

Agreed. We Americans are hurting right now. Our economy is so bad that if might be ten years until things get back to normal, heck, things may never get back to normal. We could be in this depression forever.

I am contacting some of the people on the list of all American products. Carhartt is one that I just contacted. They said that even though they are made in the USA some of the materials are imported. That being the case, I don't think they should be on the Americansworking.com list.

I've been trying pretty hard to buy American products for the retail section of my husband's soon to be open motorcycle shop and it's been extremely frustrating. I haven't been able to find ONE clothing vendor who doesn't get it's product from China, India or Costa Rica. Hats, shirts, leather goods, jewelry...even flags...all come from a foreign country. So far, the only American made products I've been able to order have been patches. I went so far as to look for plain tee shirts at Walmart and was going to screen print them myself but...you got it...none of them are made in the U.S. I'll check out that site and see if there are any businesses listed that meet my needs. We're already big fans of Justin Boots...both my husband and I have several pairs...so I'll see if I can have a catalog available for special orders but we can't afford to stock boots yet.

It's on the link that you posted, but http://store.americanapparel.net/ American Apparel is a pretty easy store to find and have some really nice clothes.

While I certainly agree with you and do buy American Made products as often as possible, there are people that simply can not afford a pair of boots from Red Wing that are $180 when they can get the cheap crap but will get them through for $40 at Walmart. As we start moving away from China and their "fine" products, our demand will go up and prices down. In the mean time, it is a very slippery slope. I know a lot of people that would never have stepped foot into Walmart are doing their weekly shopping there now. It isn't so much a choice, but as families we have to stretch that dollar even further.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is an excellent discussion. This is what I am trying to get people to do. I know almost everything comes out of China. If you buy anything coming from China, it will continue to come from China. Same goes for all countries you buy from. It used to be that when you bought from China it was much cheaper. Not anymore. Now the fanciest things come from China and demand a high price. You cannot even find a can or jar of mandarin oranges that did not come from China. We are losing our freedom of choice. Take back your rights. Buy American! I know it is hard, but it is worth it.

That is a great idea, newtondak. Problem for me is that I can't afford any of those brands and many of us can't either. We are in a real huge mess here. I don't even buy clothes unless they are so marked down or at the thrift store. Except for food and necessities, there is little that I buy that isn't 2nd hand. I do look for products made in the US....choices are very limited and very expensive. In these times, who can afford it? i will check out the website but if your example of American made is what i'll find...can't afford it. It has gone too far and I really don't think it can turn around now as easy as that.

I don't see any reason to favour companies just because they happen to operate in the same country as where I live. If business want to stay trading, they need to learn to supply the goods that people need and want at a price that they can afford. Free trade's better all round than economic nationalism.

I understand that people that make minimal wage can not afford the more expensive things that are made in the US but they can still be a part of it. With people on such a tight budget now a days. Buy from the farmstand that is down the street. Remember alot of our produce is bought from over seas as well.

Good stuff. I have been buying lately. Although it is hard to only buy American. Good website. Thanks

I agree. Want more american jobs? Want our economy to be strong? Than support it. Buy American.

call me a bad American, but I buy what is least expensive these days! I shop at Walmart, even though I know taht they are one of the worst as far as American commerce goes, but what's a staving Mom to do?

This is a great post. I always do my best to buy American made. I agree, this is a great way to help our country. Its going to help the economy. Here is another link to help with this http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/ below is an insert from this site Jobs and Communities The loss of American manufacturing jobs is more than a trend line on a graph. It has meant hardship for families and entire communities. Closed and abandoned buildings, lost retirement pensions, lost hope. Domestic companies that seek to keep production in the U.S. face daily battles against lower cost production in other parts of the world. Some U.S.-based manufacturers win out because they can deliver product more quickly to a changing market, their reputation for quality or company ethic creates loyal customers, and/or they have innovated to keep costs down. Many, however, are barely hanging on, and unless consumers make an effort to support them, the choice to buy American-made will be gone. Some widgets are just widgets, and we don't really care where they are made. Other products, however, are part of our cultural identify, representing regional history, craftsmanship, and pride. The closing of Camillus Cutlery, the end of Fenton Art Glass (or maybe not!), the loss of a furniture-making tradition, the closure of textile factories. True, times and economies change, but the accumulating closures and outsourcing have left us poorer in ways that are deeply felt but hard to quantify.

you are so right. u know i think it's hard to find american made things. thanks for the heads up on the sites.

Newton, If we had been producing what we have consumed in the past 50 years we wouldn't be in the mess we are in. Importing all this cheap junk from all over the world is the reason so many of our people are out of work and no money to put into our economy. There has got to be some laws passed and enforced that will put a stop to this kind of crap. Also a lot of American companies are setting up production in other countries to take advantage of cheap labor. This should not be allowed either. All this stuff costs jobs in the US. We cannot import into the US without hurting our own people and that is a proven fact. It would be good is the US could help other countries but not at the expense of our own people. That is exactly what they are doing when they allow all the cheap imported junk into the US. If our politicians in Washington truly had any interest in working for the best interest of the people that pay them they would put a stop to this and put all our people back to work. We are in one heck of a mess and the only way out of it is for Mother Nature to wipe our economy completely out and start over again. Art

Hi you have a noble thought for your fellow country men and its economy.since its a crisis time for the global economy. so, its not that bad to buy products from others countries. because they are also paying taxes to your country's fovernment for running their business. so chose the products that you want the most and you trust the brands...:)

This is not patriotic but i must say this is time for USA to give away to poor countries or countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, etc that it has destroyed. It needs billions of billions dollors to rebuild basic requirements of the country. I think USA should pay for it becasue they are responsible for doing it. They claim to be world's most advanced country but they failed to accomplish thier job using any of thier technology but only by mass killing of innocent people.

I disagree with you. I know I am going to get a lot of flak for this but I just don't agree. The reason products are made overseas is because they're cheaper to make there. Companies have to pay higher taxes in the U.S. than most other places in the world, and have to pay employees more in the U.S. as well. So obviously if you run a company, you're trying to maximize your own profits and do the best you can just like everyone else, it makes sense that you would produce your products overseas because its cheaper. In my opinion, to help the economy recover, there should be tax cuts to businesses so they can invest more money to create new products and new jobs here at home rather than shipping them overseas. This will also allow companies to create better products to compete with foreign companies, and in turn will spur economic growth. It doesn't make sense to me that I should buy something that isn't good just because it helps the economy. There should be measures put in place to allow companies to make better products so I can buy a good product and help the economy.