As a shopper and a patriot, who naturally prefers to purchase products which are Made in the USA whenever humanly possible, it became apparent to me quickly that there are varying degrees of how much of a product is actually American-made.
The most efficient answer I found was this, from The American Manufacturers Association (linked below):
“A United States Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called CERTIFIED, Inc. is an certification source for “Made in USA, Product of USA” claims. Products that pass CERTIFIED, Inc.’s criteria get awarded with a “100% U.S. Content” label. If you are looking for genuine American goods, look for the symbol or search the AMA member directory for companies that sell what you are looking for.”
My questions:
- Are all of the materials or ingredients (if a food product), actually “sourced” from the United States?
- Is it manufactured on American soil?
- Is the manufacturer an American-owned company?
- Is the manufacturing done in America, but all of the materials sourced from another country?
- Is it an American-owned company who manufactures in another country?
- Is the product manufactured in America, and a substantial amount of the materials or ingredients sourced from America, with only incidental parts sourced from another country? If that is the case, then are the incidental parts sourced from outside because they are not available in the U.S., or… because they are cheaper coming from elsewhere?
So, in researching these questions, I found some great resources for information on the topic. They are:
The American Manufacturers Association: http://www.ama50.com/american-manufacturing-blog/made-in-usa-labels-standards
The Made in America Movement. Has information about labeling of Made in the USA: https://www.themadeinamericamovement.com/made-in-usa-certified/difference-between-assembled-made-in-usa/
For businesses who advertise their products and want to follow the “established” rules, here is the Federal Trade Commission page on the topic: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/advertising-and-marketing/made-in-usa
AmericansWorking.com – Here is a GREAT directory of companies who manufacture products which are said to be Made in the USA! http://AmericansWorking.com
Learning as much as you can about the manufacturer (and vendor as well) will help to determine the “trust-ability” of the product origin.
Here on our site, AmericaCentralAffiliateStore.com, we feature vendors who offer Made in the USA products, although they may also carry other products as well. What we do is search through their products and list the ones which are noted as American-made. We link to the products and receive a small commission (at no cost to the customer) when someone buys. The products are all substantially Made in the USA to the best of our knowledge, with some of the materials possibly sourced from outside. If we know that to be true, we make a note about it.
Thank you for your patriotism, and for your interest in buying products which are proudly Made in the USA!!
