Are You More Likely To Buy Something ‘Made in America’?

by Verena von Pfetten | 9:30 am, October 14th, 2010

A recent survey found that 61% of Americans would be more likely to purchase a product if it was marketed as having been “Made in America.” Somewhere, Dov Charney is screaming, “I told you so!” — but how much of an impact do results like this really have on retail?

The survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive in conjunction with AdWeek Media, also shows that there is an increased likelihood of purchase of American products by older Americans as well as those living in the Midwest — but how many of these consumers are actually inspired by their patriotism?

The fashion industry has had a tough time of it over the last few years. The recession put a clamp on most people’s wallets which led to less shopping (See Also: The Genesis of FNO), as well as a much more conscious attitude to what they’re purchasing — and why. There’s a reason every brand from H&M (with their Fashion Against AIDS collection) to Louis Vuitton (with Bono’s ads for Edun) has been promoting the socially conscious aspects of their product. Not only do consumers want bang for their buck, they want to feel good about spending their money in the first place.

As more and more companies move their manufacturing centers overseas to places where labor laws are less and less enforced, consumers have the power (and, increasingly, the desire) to know how and where their product was made.

We know we’d pick an American-made product over an Indian-made one every day — but not because we’re patriotic, because we trust that the conditions under which said product were made upheld certain (American) values. What we’re most curious to know is whether people for whom “Made in America” is a selling point feel the same way about a product made in an equally regulated country such as England or Canada.

american products Child Labor child labour made in america Retail Socially Conscious

Robert Quigley

A while back, A Continuous Lean put together a really good, super comprehensive list of American-made clothing. (Filson ftw.)

http://www.acontinuouslean.com/the-american-list/
http://50StateNews.com Magister

I have to admit that I’m not very likely to notice where clothing is manufactured pre-purchase, but if I notice a “Made in America” tag or a “Union label”, then I’ll often remember it for next time, but clothing is mostly a matter of taste.

Otherwise, epecially with big purchases, I do use the place of manufacture in my calculations and if two products are nearly comparable, I’ll go with the USA. Of course, I’m also the fellow who used to always pay about a dollar more for Newman’s Own in support of charity. (I say “used to” because now Walmart prices their limited selection about the same as Ragu and I’m sure that extra charged by Krogers isn’t going to the kids.)

And now in conclusion because I don’t see them embedded above, here’s a couple of YouTubes of the “look for the union label” commercials that were burned in all of us old folks’ brain. The short version is just the song and the first-up longer version has a slight buzz, but the extra 20 seconds better explains the campaign.
dalsab

I love to buy American made products. We need to support our own! I am a nurse and recently found a scrub company that produces all of their scrubs right here in NYC.

Check it out http://www.ScrubInk.com – such cute and stylish stuff.
http://50StateNews.com Magister

PS) I just noticed the YouTube sidebar has a ’78 version of the long ad. It may not be quite as warm as the ’81 linked above and the clothes certainly aren’t as funny, but the script is different and it’s a little more “male”.

Are You More Likely To Buy Something ‘Made in America’?

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