Hi Puzzlers,
Recently, we have had a lot of positive feedback about our puzzles being made in the USA. That, coupled with ABC's Made In America series with Diane Sawyer, got me thinking about my buying habits and how many American made products I have been buying.
In the special, which aired February 28, 2011, a family agreed to have all non-American made products removed from their house. Well, needless to say, the house was left virtually empty. As I search my home looking for American made items, I, too would have suffered the same fate. My only saving grace was my stack of White Mountain Puzzles. As my daughter would say, OMG! I have to make a better effort to buy American made, so the research began.
I thought looking at the bar code could tell you where the product comes from. If the first digits begin with 00-13, they are made in America or Canada; 690-695 made in China. But according to Snoopes.com looking at the bar code is NOT reliable. Why? Well, this example explains it best. If a company in Germany (40-44) imported product from France (30-37), then packages and ships the product from Germany, the product's bar code would indicate it was from Germany and not a product of France. So the best way to identify where a product comes from is to look for the Made In The USA label.
Making things even more complicated is the fact that a product can be made in the USA but the company is owned abroad, so all the profits and taxes head to the country of origin. Fear not! There are some great web sites that have done all the research work for you and they are just a click away. (Just click the highlighted areas and-POOF-you're there.)
Need some quick tips fast? Here they are from “Eleven easy ways to buy American”.
Recently, we have had a lot of positive feedback about our puzzles being made in the USA. That, coupled with ABC's Made In America series with Diane Sawyer, got me thinking about my buying habits and how many American made products I have been buying.
In the special, which aired February 28, 2011, a family agreed to have all non-American made products removed from their house. Well, needless to say, the house was left virtually empty. As I search my home looking for American made items, I, too would have suffered the same fate. My only saving grace was my stack of White Mountain Puzzles. As my daughter would say, OMG! I have to make a better effort to buy American made, so the research began.
I thought looking at the bar code could tell you where the product comes from. If the first digits begin with 00-13, they are made in America or Canada; 690-695 made in China. But according to Snoopes.com looking at the bar code is NOT reliable. Why? Well, this example explains it best. If a company in Germany (40-44) imported product from France (30-37), then packages and ships the product from Germany, the product's bar code would indicate it was from Germany and not a product of France. So the best way to identify where a product comes from is to look for the Made In The USA label.
Making things even more complicated is the fact that a product can be made in the USA but the company is owned abroad, so all the profits and taxes head to the country of origin. Fear not! There are some great web sites that have done all the research work for you and they are just a click away. (Just click the highlighted areas and-POOF-you're there.)
Need some quick tips fast? Here they are from “Eleven easy ways to buy American”.
COTTON SWABS. The Q-Tips brand is made in America, but is owned by Unilever, which is a joint venture between England and the Netherlands. American alternatives are CVS or Walgreen’s brands, which are both made in USA and are American-owned companies based in the United States.
DEODORANT. Suave and Dove are both owned by Unilever. Buy Speed Stick, which has been made in USA by American-owned Colgate- Palmolive.
BATH SOAP. Irish Spring and Ivory soap are American. Jergens is made in America, but the company is Japanese owned, and Dial is German owned.
MUSTARD. French’s mustard isn’t French, it’s British. Grey Poupon sounds foreign, but it’s owned by an American company, and is made in America.
PASTA SAUCE. Unilever owns Ragu. Prego is an American brand owned by the Campbell Soup Company, and is made in the United States.
DISINFECTANT. Lysol used to be owned by Kodak, but Kodak sold it to a British company in 1995. Clorox is American owned.
COFFEE. Two of the most popular brands in the United States are Maxwell House and Taster’s Choice. Taster’s Choice is made by Switzerland based Nestle. Maxwell House is an American brand. The coffee beans for both brands are imported, however. For truly American coffee from tree to cup (the beans come from Hawaii) check out the USA Coffee Company at http://www.usacoffeecompany.com/.
COSMETICS. Revlon is an American owned company and many (not all) of their products are made in the United States. Maybelline was American-owned until 1996 when French-owned L’Oreal bought the company.
BOTTLED WATER. Dannon bottled water (and other Dannon products like yogurt) are French owned. Aquafina (owned by Pepsi) and Dasani (owned by Coca-Cola) are American brands.
PEANUT BUTTER. Choose Jif, because Jif is American owned and not Skippy which is owned by Unilever.
“American-made products create American jobs. Each time you choose to buy an American-made product, you help save or create an American job. There is a ripple effect in that every manufacturing job creates three to four other jobs.”
I certainly cannot replace everything in my home but I am definitely going to make small changes as I go and when I have to make another major purchase I will definitely look at the sites listed above to find American owned and made versions.
I certainly cannot replace everything in my home but I am definitely going to make small changes as I go and when I have to make another major purchase I will definitely look at the sites listed above to find American owned and made versions.
Happy Puzzling!
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