National Pride; made in the USA Think Tank written by Apparel Search

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National Pride; made in the USA

Has the time for PATRIOTISM arrived? At what point are we willing to pay a few extra dollars to keep jobs in the United States? Lets ponder this.

Picture yourself strolling through the doors of your local retailer, you reach into your pocket to retrieve the wrinkled T-shirt advertisement you clipped from the Sunday newspaper. Prior to venturing out of the house, your spouse provided you with clear instructions for your shopping. You are to return home with two T-shirts, one red & one blue. The assignment has been clearly etched into your mind, the T-shirts MUST be the same brand, same quality and same price as advertised. Fairly confident that you will breeze in and out of the store able to complete your mission, you proceed to the shirt department. You approach the rack that says, “Advertised T-shirts Here!." A smile comes across your face as you riffle through the rack pulling the sizes that your spouse has required. Mission accomplished... almost.

You turn from the four-way to make your way to the register but you notice an additional sale rack directly behind you. This sign says "Advertised T-shirts Here! (Made in the USA)" What do you do now? Your curiosity gets the best of you, so you proceed to investigate. The store has graciously attached descriptive hangtags to all of the stores garments. Placing the shirts side by side, you determine that the quality is absolutely identical. It is clear to conclude that the shirts are of identical fabric construction, content, weight, color, etc. In fact, both groups of shirts have the exact same store label (Brand Name). The shirts are virtually identical in appearance and quality.

You are confident that the quality is identical and the only difference between the shirts is the country of origin and the price. The first group of shirts had been made in China and sell for $6.99 per unit and the second group of shirts had been made in the USA and sell for $7.99.

Do you buy two shirts for $13.98 (China) or do you buy the identical shirts for $15.98 (USA)??? Be honest…

In this scenario, the price difference is $2.00. Where should we draw the line? Is a five-cent difference acceptable? Is five dollars? As a consumer, how much money are you willing to spend to support your country???

The majority of us will agree that the cost of labor in the USA is higher than the cost of labor in most countries around the world (not higher than “all”, but higher than most…). Due to a higher cost of labor, it is obvious that garments produced in the United States will cost more than garments produced in China, India, Pakistan etc.

Questions:

When shopping, are you willing to support your country or are you only willing to support your own wallet?
Spend the extra dollar.. . Support USA manufacturers
Has the United States government done enough to equal the playing field for USA workers? Tariff, Trade Policy, Treaty, etc.
Write to your state politician ... Support USA manufacturers...
Are apparel & textile organizations doing enough to help the United States garment factories?
You have paid yearly dues to your organization or association, have they shown you RESULTS this year. Make them support USA manufacturers...
Have large retailers taken steps to support USA factories?
Make retailers create sections in their stores for USA product ONLY... Make them support USA manufacturers...

If you can afford to do so, support your country !!!

Written by Apparel Search 9/3/01

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