The Case for Reshoring: Bringing Quality Manufacturing Jobs to USA
Good news for U.S. manufacturers: stateside production and employment opportunities are on the rise.
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Good news for U.S. manufacturers: stateside production and employment opportunities are on the rise.
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Historically there has been a lot of hype around the American made topic, but there is a heightened awareness in recent years, which has drawn more attention to this subject now more than ever. This is mostly due to reshoring by major manufacturers, the US Government with SelectUSA and STEM programs, and all of the issues we face with counterfeiting and sub-par products.
Almost every day I come across an article or look at a label that says, “Made in USA” or “American made.” Products I see with the Made in USA label range anywhere from batteries, hand tools, and hardware, to outdoor furniture and household appliances, to groceries and dog food — not to mention the Made in USA mandate for many government-driven programs. This is similar to every time I communicate with my wife and kids because whenever there is a lot of talk there are also a lot of misunderstandings, misstatements, and misconceptions.
If we want to get technical, American made can mean many things. Is it South American made? North American made? Is it made in Mexico? What is it?
According to the Federal Trade Commission, a product is made in the USA if it is “all or virtually all” made in the USA. What does “all or virtually all” mean? That phrase “means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of US origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.” My interpretation is that, most importantly, you be honest. If it is made in the USA with domestic and imported components, say so. If it is manufactured in the USA and packaged in Mexico, say so. If it is designed and assembled in the USA but manufactured in China, say so.
Now on to the heart of the subject, why does it matter? Why should I care? I just want the best price … It matters more than we accept.
What are your thoughts? Does it matter to you? Does it matter enough to consider a change? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: EBN Online
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“American manufacturing is back!” breathlessly exclaim the ebullient cheerleaders in locales such as Forbes and the Boston Consulting Group. But while U.S. manufacturing may have bounced back slightly from Great Recession-lows, the reality is that America’s manufacturing recovery remains tenuous. On this National Manufacturing Day, policymakers can and should be doing much more to stimulate the growth and competitiveness of America’s manufacturing economy. Read more
CERTIFIED, Inc. (madeinusa.net), the nation’s leading independent, non-governmental organization (NGO) certification company Made in USA claims, reported today that KLEAR VU CORPORATION of Fall River, Massachusetts has earned a Made in USA CERTIFIED® Seal for its quality Delightfill® chair pad and chair pad gripper line, fully documenting these products comply with the qualification and quantification that all or virtually all of the product components originate in the United States. Read more
CERTIFIED, Inc. (madeinusa.net), the nation’s leading independent, non-governmental organization (NGO) certification company for Country of Origin claims, reported today that ZEIGLER’S has earned a Product of USA CERTIFIEDTM Seal for its natural Apple Cider, the first such cider to qualify after a detailed supply chain audit that documents all components and processes. Such certification will reinforce to consumers the quality of ZEIGLER’S Apple Cider. Read more
A “Made in USA” label is becoming a more actively coveted item. But local footwear brand New Balance has long been crafting a number of their sneakers domestically. Read more
I proudly add the “Made in USA” label to every product I manufacture in my San Francisco factory. Making bags in this country is fundamentally important to me and to my company–but maybe not for the reasons you think.
Here at Rickshaw Bagworks, making our own products is a celebration of our passion for making things, not a protest of outsourcing or offshoring. I’m not a protectionist, and I’m not a Made-in-America zealot. We live in the modern global economy–I get it. In fact, my original plan was to import partially made bags from China and do only the final assembly in our shop.
But, alas, I’m a stubborn maker at heart. We soon found ourselves designing products that we could produce from scratch in our own factory–and getting great feedback from customers for our made-in-San-Francisco goods. So we encouraged letting our manufacturing story be our key point of differentiation: We don’t just design what we sell, we make what we sell.
That’s always been my true love. When I was in high school, I took wood and metal shop classes, and I started my own stained glass business, crafting windows, lampshades, and terrariums for my parents’ friends. Then I headed off to college, got a degree in engineering, and started working in Silicon Valley. My crafting days were over–or so it seemed. Twenty years later, I happened into the bag-making business and reconnected with my dormant passion for making things. As fate would have it, that happened at a time and in a place particularly challenging for makers–but also full of opportunity.
We live in an age when production is more often than not outsourced to anonymous contract manufacturers, predominantly in low-cost labor markets. There are good reasons for that, as well as some horrific and well-publicized downsides. Though economies of scale and low-cost labor have yielded tremendous cost savings for consumers, it seems we may be approaching the limits of this business model, especially after factory disasters abroad have focused more attention on the poor working conditions and environmental impact of these practices. There is a small but growing group of “conscious consumers,” who care about the who, what, why, where, and how behind the products they buy. These customers want to connect with the companies they purchase goods from, and share their enthusiasm with others like themselves.
So, does it really matter where it’s made? Yes, and no. I believe it’s less about specifically where we manufacture–though San Francisco has fabulous geographic cachet–than about the fact that we make our own products, in our own factory, under our own brand name. It’s about connection and accountability–knowing and dealing directly with the maker and trusting the brand. Here at Rickshaw, we design and make what we sell. We own it. The buck starts and stops right here. Making what we sell is our primary differentiator. “Made in USA” is the where of our brand story.
As a conscious consumer myself, I’m concerned about the environmental and social justice issues that come with manufacturing in less-developed, poorly regulated countries. As a maker, I’m optimistic that there’s a promising future for small-scale, innovative, specialty manufacturing in America. In my bags, those “Made in USA” labels are shorthand for “quality products, made with integrity by a company that’s accountable and that cares for its employees, customers, business partners, and community, and for our shared planet.”
This is not something that’s exclusively American. Nor is it universally American. But I like to think it’s fundamentally American.
Manufacturers of products made with recycled materials can’t claim offerings were “Made In USA” unless they can show that the materials originated domestically, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) making it the “Made in USA” claims tricky for recycled materials. Read more
Also beneficial to U.S. domestic user and consumer demand requirements are the rising costs incurred by labor and management in China, and to a lesser extent in other dynamic manufacturing sector nations such as Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
This redounds to the benefit of America’s manufacturers, not only in shrinking costs, but lessening the need of huge advance orders to get the best price from foreign exporters. Also, the ability of domestic U.S. manufacturers through its distribution, to keep inventories current, without overburdening supply, definitely tilts the advantage increasingly to the domestic industrial manufacturing sector.
Although this obvious rebound of the U.S.A.’s industrial sector benefits the American economy as a whole, it probably will do little to alleviate the chronic unemployment, as tightening government regulations and advanced tech, plus increased use of part-time workers do not translate into a torrent of substantial additional production employees.
Morris R. Beschloss writes a regular blog at www.desertsun.com/beschloss and a column that can be found Sunday in The Desert Sun.
What do you think?
Do you agree or disagree with Morris Beschloss? Let us know via comments below.
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