Made in USA: We Are The 3%
Wal-Mart’s annual sales are $453 Billion. Yes – BILLION! A measly promise of $5 billion a year in American Made goods is a drop in the bucket to them. Wal-Mart is the biggest of the big box stores. They are also the biggest to blame for the US garment industry’s downfall. More than a half a million jobs in the garment industry were lost between 1996 to 2011.
Wal-Mart’s isn’t committed to American manufacturing; they’re committed to their bottom line and their shareholders. They promise to invest in more American made products like appliances and furniture. Bulky items are too expensive to import anymore because of high fuel costs. If they truly were committed to US manufacturing, they should commit the $50 billion into small goods and apparel – ANNUALLY!
You can say, “at least it’s a drop in the bucket.” Wal-Mart above any other retailer has the power to create real change and $5 billion a year back into American manufacturing has some weight. It’s a step in the right direction. I’ll give them that. – But what about investing in the half a million garment jobs that were lost in the past 15 years? What about sourcing in American garment factories, instead of foreign unregulated factories – which carries deadly consequences. Remember the November 2012 factory fire in Bangladesh where over 100 workers died? – Wal-Mart was their biggest customer.
I don’t want to get hung up on the crappy business practices of Wal-Mart. – We could be here all day. And that’s the reason I’ve been in a funk in the first place. I’ve completely buried myself in deciphering the ripple effects of Wal-Mart and American manufacturing. What I’ve learned isn’t pretty.
One statistic I couldn’t get out of my head is out of all the apparel sold within the United States, only 3% is made in the United States. 3%! That’s it! The other 97% is imported, mostly from countries with low-cost labor, and no environmental oversight. Back in 1990, it was 50% of apparel sold here was made here. In 1960 it was 95%. So yeah, now you can see why I’ve been in a funk.
It’s not entirely Wal-Mart’s fault, even if they are 6 times bigger than the next big box store – Target. It’s our fault too, for looking the other way all these years and letting that number get so low. How much further can we go?
Here at The Made in America Movement, we focus on highlighting the brands/companies that are part of the 3%. Raise your hand proud if you’re part of the 3%. Inspire others to follow your lead. Tell Wal-Mart we aren’t going to settle on their measly 1.5% commitment to ‘Buy American’.
Wal-Mart needs to do better. Every other box store in the US needs to do better. We ALL need to do better. We have to build on the 3%.
Here’s what you can do: Read your labels, Buy American, and inspire others to do so as well.
*findings from National Retail Federation and US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Yes, you can try to encourage the big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target to buy more American made. Great. Now how about instead of just complaining in your artricle, you actually left us with a heads up on where we proud Americans can purchase the 3%? That’s what I was hoping to discover and you left me hanging. Be part of the solution. (Unionlabel.com is a start.)
Hi Valerie, Thank you for reading! Awareness of what we’re up against is the biggest first step. There are lots of Made in USA websites that highlight brands that make products in the USA. In addition to Unionlabel.com that you already mentioned, as well as this site; Made in America Movement, you should also check out:
http://www.usalovelist.com
http://www.madecollection.com
Hooray! Now where is the 3%? I keep lookingand hoping that more retailors will take the lead.
Really! We have all those “The touch, the feel of cotton” commercials. I know I should buy American! I love the clothes on those commercials (Hoping its all American cotton) so let us know where to buy it!
You can also check out http://www.reshored.com to discover companies that make things in the USA!
We manufacture upholstered furniture here in N.C. We have been committed to domestic production since we opened our operation in 1989 & not just “coming back” to USA due to transportation costs and tariffs. We believe in the creativity & quality of our employees here in USA. Our furniture is distributed through independent retail stores & interior design firms throughout the US.
We are a mostly domestic manufacturer of low voltage lighting products for the RV OEM industry. I believe we are one of the few that are still making products in North America. We compete every day against an endless stream of imports. I think it’s important to understand why this has happened to see what can be done to fix the situation.
Constant pricing pressure from overseas competitors has forced companies like ours to move manufacturing off shore. In our situation, we felt that if we did not move key products to China we would simply lose all of our business due to price. The same thought process guided our competitors too. Much the same as the thought process that decimated our clothing industry as well as others.
Our OEM customers didn’t seem to mind. Lower prices were what they wanted. The fact that their customer base here in the US was losing employment and was less able to purchase their products just didn’t seem to cause any concern.
Ultimately, our OEM customers didn’t care because THEIR customers didn’t seem to care. The retail customer was looking for a cheap price.
The government may or may not care, but it won’t take a lead on this, I suspect because we are in so much debt to the Chinese.
Don’t get me wrong. Many of our customers claim to have an interest in buying domestically, but more often than not the decisions are made primarily on price.
To turn this around, we are going to need a grass roots driven push led by the retail customers. We need to vote with our wallet. Seek out products that are made in the USA. Walmart and other retailers thrive by delivering what their customers want. Make the retailers understand that their customers WANT domestic product. Don’t criticize them for announcing even a small goal, rather ask for more. The employees at my local Walmart always ask if we found everything we were looking for (as do many other retailers). Well, tell them. Speak with the clerks, the store managers, etc. Write letters. Tell them what you didn’t find. Management at successful businesses like Walmart tend to listen to their customers.
If you still need convincing, take a look at this short PDF slide summary on US domestic manufacturing. I found this interesting, if a bit frightening: http://www.newschool.edu/scepa/conferences/2010/US%20Corporation/coporation%20slides/Sturgeon_slides.pdf
William Rogue & Co is a site that seems to focus more on premium Made in USA products. A pretty wide selection of good brands.
where is made in the U.S.A the whole world is hungry for American Manfactuers. When the retailers who has the big Buks in America wll invest in small products, I would aske them to go back to the Sixtes and the Seventes wheere American made products the best in the whole wide world. relteliers need to wake up and smell the coffee. Its time to show that they are real American.