I'm just curious about how many people here actually do "Buy American"

[HEyHEY]

Do you go out of your way to do so? When in Canada I purposely avoided buying things made in certain countries. I can say I actually do that. It seems to me not enough people do. Wal-Mart is just too attractive to people.

[Skittles]

1. I do try

it is very, very difficult

[Divine Discontent]

4. Me, too! I look at 99% of items I buy as to where they're made, and try my best to

buy the American alternative, over the past decade, even if a little bit more expensive. Of course, finding that American alternative is very challenging when it comes to several types of items, as essentially some things just aren't made in the USA anymore. Otherwise, folks can search google for american made and union made, pretty easily. Lots of items like clothes still made in America.


unionlabel.com is doing a $75+ purchase gets free shipping, for example.

[benfranklin1776]

23. I too try to buy union made since I know my money is not going to subsidize sweatshops

If that is not possible then I look for Canadian, or Western European or any country that has tight labor laws and prohibits sweatshop and child labor and actually enforces the law. Which excludes China.

The union label site is great. This is a really good union made clothing site: www.allamericanclothing.com

[Divine Discontent]

41. thanks for that link.

:hi:

[benfranklin1776]

43. You're welcome!

:hi:

[Xicano]

5. What Skittles said.

n/t

[Raine]

Same here but I have to admit

often I'm not that successful because finding things made here is harder and harder. :-(

[Hello_Kitty]

2. Actually, given my current financial state all I buy is food and cigarettes.

The smokes are domestic as is most of the food. :)

[Goldstein1984]

3. Whenever American is available, we do.

We're buying less and less these days. The money seems happier in the safe.

[jpgray]

6. The only thing I do worth mentioning is buy clothes second-hand

Finding locally-made clothes is a hassle. Second-hand electronics is pretty much a must as well, if you want to avoid buying any foreign-made parts.

[lob1]

7. Is Taco Bell American? I get confused.

[Greyhound]

8. I'm not buying much of anything these days, but when I do it is American

whenever that is an option.

[flyarm]

9. what is left to buy that is made in America????????? not much! eom

[Union Scribe]

16. Not so. What are you looking for?

With the exception of electronics, there are US made choices in most categories.

[pipi_k]

52. About 11 years ago we added a room to the house....

a master bedroom, rec room, and bath.

Mr P searched all over for bathroom fixtures (sink, vanity, mirror, etc) made in the US.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. All made in China crap. Unless you want to have stuff custom made by local artisans for like two or three times the price and blow the budget.


It's even worse now.


Now if we're traveling around and spot a yard sale we might pick up an old piece of furniture. This past summer we got a real nice dry bar at a friend's yard sale for less than $20. Made in the US of solid wood. :)

[NuttyFluffers]

10. i try. it takes effort, but DU also shares info to help out.

it's mostly online buying, but that's no biggie. driving costs money too, so if a store starts to be more than 10 miles away, i'm looking at around $10 in expenses (@ $0.50 a mile in gas/ins/repair); therefore $8 or less in S/H doesn't really add all that much in comparison.

[tavalon]

11. I try to stay within a 100 mile limit for food. It's damn hard.

For clothes, housewares, furniture, etc. I buy used. Always. I'll admit that because of that, I don't check labels as closely on the non-consumables.

[tavalon]

12. I try to stay within a 100 mile limit for food. It's damn hard.

For clothes, housewares, furniture, etc. I buy used. Always. I'll admit that because of that, I don't check labels as closely on the non-consumables.

[inna]

13. what's more relevant is how many people here cannot afford much, labels notwithstanding

[slay]

14. I buy American marijuana

as opposed to the lower-quality stuff from mexico. :evilgrin: :smoke:

[FreakinDJ]

15. I do buy American - and I never shop Walmart

I even asked my wife not to spend my money in Walmart

At the end of the day the American made clothing (work clothes), tools, and household items last longer and does not need replacing

[kywildcat]

17. just bought a pair of Maytags

made in Ohio. I do try to buy American made-mostly because I see the impact sending work out of the country has had and it gets under my skin like nothing else.

[Art_from_Ark]

47. Maytag has been moving a lot of production to Mexico

For example, its Galesburg, Illinois operations were sent to Mexico about 6 years ago.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1790/maytag_moves_to_mexico/

I'm surprised to hear that they still make appliances in Ohio.

[Solly Mack]

18. I look at labels and try to buy American made...even here in Germany.

But I also make a point of buying German made/grown - especially local...I live here, I use the roads, I ride the s-bahn...I use the services.

[lillypaddle]

19. Pakistan seems to be the "new China"

And quality, or lack thereof, is a big issue. It's very difficult to find products, especially clothing & linens made in America. I always have liked the quality of Landsend's goods - just ordered my son a jacket for Christmas, and found it was made in China. It's pathetic, really.

[w8liftinglady]

20. I DID buy Hanes socks "Made in USA" for my boys...

it was REALLY hard to find them,though.
i have noticed,aside from China...a HUGE influx of items from Pakistan and Mexico...

[w8liftinglady]

21. an earlier post of mine,listing American-made products

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/w8liftinglady/109

[peacebird]

22. i try to....

i look for country of origin stickers

[FreeJoe]

24. I don't.

I'm a big supporter of global trade as a way to raise living standards around the world. The improvement in the lives of people in China and India in the last couple of decades that they have been active in international trade has been astounding. I'm sorry that it has depressed the living standards of working Americans, but my interest is in the greatest good for all of humanity rather than just for American citizens. I know that is a controversial opinion here, but it is the way I feel.

[w8liftinglady]

29. That's cool.I live in Texas,too.

i have since 1978.
there's an escalating outsourcing of jobs in texas,and an escalating occurance of uninsured and unemployed.Soon,we will be those we want so badly to help.Who,then,will help US?The Chinese (Read-the Chinese elite) already own us.They will continue to work their children,their employees to death.We will find ourselves descending into the same Hell we worked so hard to escape in the late 1800's/early 1900's.

do some research on Child labor in these countries.
Standards of living have risen for a few...kind of like here.

[GoCubsGo]

37. Also....

Do some research on Chinese use of prison labor in manufacturing. Most of them don't even get paid for their labor.

[madokie]

25. First thing I look at is where it is made

Canada, North, Central and South America is where I like to buy from.

[ixion]

26. I will generally check to see if a product I'm buying is Made in USA

and will choose that product if it is made better than the imported alternative.

[GoCubsGo]

38. That's how I shop, too.

I avoid buying items made in China, in large part, because they are almost always JUNK. But, sometimes one has no choice.

[ixion]

39. Exactly. Given China's long, long history with metallurgy

it's very sad that the metal they produce is garbage, and because they know better, I can draw no other conclusion than that they do it on purpose.

[MadHound]

27. I try to do so as much as possible,

However there are certain things that I buy from whoever has the best quality. For instance a couple of years back I needed to replace my thirty five year old Troybilt tiller. The American tillers I looked at, including the new Troybilts, were nothing more than cheap ass junk. I decided to spring for the extra five hundred dollars and get a quality machine from BCS. Have yet to regret it, doubt that I will.

There are certain items that I won't skimp on, including small engines. I can't afford to skimp there, because paying for quality now means paying less in the long run. I fully expect my new tiller to last for another thirty plus years, just as I expect my John Deere lawnmower to last at least fifteen or twenty.

[quaker bill]

28. I "sell American"

made by me right here.

[Brickbat]

30. I do. It's not hard because I've changed the way I consume. I buy much less clothing, for example,

and the clothing I do buy is either really good stuff made in the USA, or it's used stuff made in the USA. I buy so much less clothing on impulse than I used to.

We are a union family and so we make a huge effort -- I would say probably a lot more than most people -- to buy union-made in the USA. All of our big-ticket items -- furniture, cars, stereo equipment, appliances -- are union-made in the USA. Yes, it's hard to find sometimes. And yes, you don't always get the very first choice of what you want. But it feels good knowing that the chair I put my ass on wasn't made with slave labor.

When I go to the grocery store and the food label says "made in China," I don't buy it.

If I want to buy something for the house, like a knick-knack, or I find a cute impulse clothing purchase, and it's made in China and I really, really like it, I take a moment and ask myself if owning it is worth it knowing that someone my son's age probably had something to do with its creation. That usually helps me put it back. Sometimes it's something I really want and there is no alternative for it. I hate it when that happens.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

31. I won't buy clothing made in China

I go to second hand shops to find applicances that were made in America. I also ask when I shop if it was made in America.

[TBF]

32. People shop at Walmart because they can't afford to shop anywhere else -

not because they want to support slave labor. They have no choice.

[Union Scribe]

33. It's a catch-22

You've got blue collar people whose jobs have disappeared or wages have been slashed by the global slave labor system, so they have no money to buy anything besides the dirt cheap slave labor products that help cause their situation and keep them there.

[TBF]

34. I know - my mom and sister shop there because they are low income.

It's simply the cheapest so that's where they go. We are fighting quite a force in global capitalism.

[leveymg]

35. I'm on a total lifetime boycott of Walmart

Almost total. I may have bought a pair of swim trunks there, once, while we were on vacation. Got to the beach and discovered I had not packed any. Our hosts took me there, and I didn't want to make a fuss by insisting on going somewhere else.

Never again.

[Vinca]

36. Funny you should post this. Yesterday I went sock shopping.

As I poked among the dozens of varieties at a Hanes outlet, I found the best socks ever and they are made in Tennessee. http://www.worldssoftest.com/home.php I always look for American-made products and rarely find them. When it comes to clothing I search for "new old" U.S. made goods at thrift shops and rummage sales. As for appliances . . . the search goes on (year 5) for a toaster.

[FLSurfer]

40. Yes, absolutely.

I own a surf shop and even go out of my way to stock as manyUSA made items as possible.
For any surfers out there, MATIX has a line of US made clothing.

[mahina]

42. I do, all the time.

Check out your local artists and craft shops. Here are some from Hawaii:

http://www.noheagallery.com/ a favorite!

http://www.volcanoartcenter.org/

From the continent:

http://www.therealmothergoose.com/ Portland

http://www.nwfinewoodworking.com/ Seattle

[Paper Roses]

44. I try but it is nearly impossible. One of the ways I get around buying

junky stuff is to buy small antiques for friends and family. They all know I constantly poke around and I do find old time goodies for gifts. Not necessary of great value but just plain old fun stuff. Sometimes I even have to explain the use of the object, especially old hand operated kitchen wares. How many of you know what a soap saver is? I have picked up lots of old goodies for this Christmas. Many costing 50 cents to a few dollars. Fun, well made(in USA)and great topics for conversation. Just bought an old pepper mill, salt shaker on top, pepper mill on base. Sterling cover and band at the bottom. Small chunk out of wood in the mid section. Took some doing but I cut out and patched the chunk, refinished the mill. Will polish the silver parts again today. Christmas present for daughter. Plus I will have the story to tell of finding and repairing it.
Cost? $2.00

Generally I keep out of big stores. Limited budget and everything looks the same. Poking around in old antiques shops and thrift stores can turn up all kinds of goodies from an era when WE made the goods.

[Frisbee]

45. I have never in my life been in a Walmart...

Went in a Sam's once with my brother, when they first came to town and I had no idea who they were (this was a REALLY long time ago). Do I buy Chinese items, of course I do, in some cases we are simply left with no alternatives. But I make a sincere effort not to. And the small business I own makes it a point to in most cases carry an American products whenever feasible (it's not always). It cost me sales sometimes because of the price, but it also sometimes makes a sale, because there are people out there who are still looking for American made products, either for the quality or just to "Buy American".

[robcon]

46. I think the "Buy American" idea is nonsense.

Buy whatever you want. Global trade is the best solution - both in economic terms and in terms of peace among nations.

[Blue_Tires]

48. not as easy as it used to be...

I remember the time as a kid when our TV and almost every appliance or piece of electronics was made in the U.S...Try doing that now...

I did make it a point to buy an American-made car, though...

[Generic Other]

49. Does Goodwill count?

I buy American the second time around.

[Dogtown]

50. I don't.

I feel that it's much too provincial in a global environment, & I don't support nationalism in any form.


I never shop Walmart, though. It's the epitome of the Evil Corporation.

[otohara]

51. UpCycle Purchase Here

I went to Etsy and found homemade scarves and skirts - the gal lives here and I bought two items. The only items I found made in the USA were food items, so I bought bunches of Carmel candies made in Montana. Sadly however, in a hurry to get gifts in the mail to Japan, I bought a couple items made in Portugal and Vietnam. I have no problem with buying stuff from Vietnam.