Product Origin

I always look for products/food from North America. I think the
problem began years ago with the unions. Unions were responsible for
raising safety, wages etc. decades ago but have outlived their use
(governments have laws in place now). Some of their demands have
forced retailers to look to alternatives. Remember the shareholder of
these companies expect a profit on their investment. We are all
shareholders through pension plans, retirement savings..The change
must come from the consumer and refuse to buy. This will never happen.
For every one of you and me, there are three waiting to buy cheap
imported items that seem to never be worth it, for the most part.All
the best.

FYI - a bit off topic - but when you buy a Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen,
etc., you are actually helping the U.S.A. and saving U.S. jobs.

This is due to the fact that all three of those car makers make most
of the cars they sell in the U.S. market right here in the states at
plants staffed by American workers.

Economists say if every one of us spent an extra $3.33 on U.S.-made
goods every year, it would create nearly 10,000 new jobs in this
country.

Sounds like a wonderful idea, it really does. I am a small business
owner and use only American made supplies for my business.

However, the problem is this - we need to START making certain
products in the USA before a store like target can do this.
Right now there NONE of the following products made in the USA

-Televisions
-NO computer is COMPLETELY american made at this point - even US built
computer use parts from overseas
-light bulbs
-luggage
-98% percent of clothing is made overseas (hope you didn't like a
selection while shopping)
- shoes (mainly made overseas)
- just about NOTHING electronic related

It just isn't possible for Target to switch over and remain the same
store that they are.

Funny thing is alot of products are made overseas but built in the US.
Apple is one company that does this, its manufactured in China but
assembled here in the USA.

This is why its hard to ban "made in china" by doing so you might
actually be hurting American workers.

Even car manufactueres are like this. The top 2 AMERICAN made cars
are the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry. Both are built in the US.
The Ford F-150 was disquialified from this list because over 55% of
its parts came from overseas.

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/06/23/made-in-usa-a-toyota-is-m
ost-american-car/

For those of you who REALLY want to keep your money in the US please
read up on the "Berry Amendment"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_Amendment


The amendment requires that the Dept of Defense gives preference to
domestic companies - mainly for food, clothing, textiles, and
specialty metals.


If you REALLY want to make a difference start looking for companies
that are "Berry Amendment Compliant".



Yes you will pay more. But if local jobs is what you really want,
then you need to accept that sometimes it means paying more.

I think you've put Target in a catch 22. You say that few things
manufactured in American anymore but you want Target to only sale
things made in America. Their shelves are going to be pretty bare if
they only sale things made in America.

A more obtainable goal might be for Target to offer and call out
American made products where they exist.

"could do this without suffering financially from it. "

O_o



Where did you get that idea from? You realize that this would kill
them right?

How? They're so big right? ... because they will have to raise their
prices to compensate. And this will drive people away.



Yes many people say "buy USA buy USA!" but... they don't actually want
to PAY for it. They've gotten use to paying the dirt-cheap prices
from overseas and don't want to change their way of life to actually
make this happen.


I mean seriously - what products do you think will actually be sold in
the store?

Actually look at what products are available and what brands... some
items aren't made in the US anymore period.


Basically telling a company to "only sell domestic products" is
grandstanding. They cannot personally force industries to move back,
even if you want to name them as the "champion" for your cause.


It's as effective as trying to get a cashier to change the tax laws in
your state. Sure the cashier is involved in the tax collection, but
there's too many factors that they cannot control, even with
influence.

I have to agree with the others. The lack of sales of American goods
is just one small part of the issue.

And in a perfect World, yeah, we would all recognize the need to buy
our own goods to keep the country's economy strong, but esp. now,
people are fixated on lowest cost because we're in a recession.

I wish the answer was as easy as this, but it's far more complicated.

I, too, would love to see American retailers only sell products
manufactured in the United States. Before that, however, I would like
to see American consumers vow only to buy products manufactured in
America, irrespective of the cost. Unfortunately, Americans won't do
that. Just to to walmart and watch watch people buy.

Unfortunately, this would cause their prices to rise significantly and
nobody would be able to afford to shop there.