Communities are everywhere. They are interest based, community based, location based and even social-economically grounded. The point is there is common thread that brings people together whether it is offline or even online. That common thread could be startup entrepreneurs or mid-sized CEOs or even mompreneurs. Either way, we at CEO Blog Nation tried to highlight the different communities within the entrepreneur and business owner world. One of these is USA Made Products. Thanks to our sponsor USAMadeforSale.com, who explained what Made in the USA meant to them, we decided to ask a few entrepreneurs what USA Made means to them.
Placing Value in our Neighborhoods, Friends, Family & Communities
“…USA Made means placing value in our neighborhoods, friends, family, and our communities near and far. It means knowing that the purchases you make go straight back into our economy for the better. It means knowing that you may have helped put food on the table for a family or paid their bills for the next month. It means taking care of your own while still buying a product which is beautiful and dependable. America is an amazing country with a population ready to help rebuild. Buying USA Made products is the right way to get our country back on the right track. With every USA Made purchase your local economy is infused with money. You’re helping not only the craftsman of the product, but a whole string of other people along the way.USA Made means you’re committed to rejuvenating your community from the ground up. It also means you value the quality of what you purchase and want something uniquely made instead of cheaply manufactured. You care about how the project gets from A to Z…”
Thanks to USAMadeforSale.com!
Most Items Made in the USA
I work in the apparel industry. I help apparel brands develop their products and market them. I also have a small handmade boutique which does some of these handmade pop-up markets. In terms of both industries (the handmade and the apparel industry) the definition that I come across used most of the time is that Made in USA means that MOST of the item and the materials that make up the item are Made in the USA. In the US for apparel we have this yarn forward definition where you have to count it from where the yarns were made and go from that point forward in the development process. If most of those materials- including the final cutting and sewing of the garment is done in the USA, then you can advertise it as Made in USA. Another related trend that I am seeing in the apparel industry is where they are taking the Apple approach and marketing their products as Designed in USA although they may be made somewhere else, say India or Bangladesh or China.
Thanks to Kat Rosati, Apparel Booster!
100% Made in America
We are the only rubber duck company in America. The rubber duck was invented here and then the whole industry went overseas. I returned it here to be the only one making them in the USA once again. Not only that, but we just brought our second factory on-line where we are now making the safest rubber ducks in the world and even exporting to China if you can believe that! Bottom line, for me, USA made means 100% of your product is made here. That includes the packaging and even internal parts you cannot see. Now a days, people claim USA made, but up to 25% sometimes is using foreign parts and they still get away with it. You would not believe how common this is! But not for us. Even the little metal weights you cannot see in each duck we make in Illinois. When we say 100% made in America…that means 100% made in America! That's how I define it anyway.
Thanks to Craig Wolfe, CelebriDucks!
Knitted, Cut, Sewn & Packaged in USA
All hemp products are truly Made in the USA. Not assembled in the USA, but the fabric is knitted here, cut, sewn and packaged. While consumer often say they want made in the USA, it can be difficult to deliver quality products at price points that can compete with products made overseas.
Thanks to Maria Moser, Geffen Baby!
Designed, Developed & Manufactured in the US
Made in the USA to me, means: Goods that are designed, developed and manufactured in the US. I have even gone as far as to make sure my packaging and packaging materials are made in the US as much as possible – the only product I cannot find made in the US, are lipstick tubes (if anyone has any tips on where these are being made in the US, that would be swell). I know my products could be made less expensively, as well as with packaging from outside of the country, but it is imperative that I don't cut any corners. That my products are truly Made in the US.
Thanks to Becky Sturm, StormSister Spatique!