Made in USA

“Made in USA” is a fascinating phrase.  My reaction to seeing it on a product is rather complicated, and can set off little bursts of patriotism, consumerism, elation, disappointment, and confusion.

Patriotism sets in first.  A little voice in the back of my head that strangely sounds like Larry the Cable Guy says “It’s made in Amurrica, not in one o’ them slanty-eyed countries west o’ Nevada!”.  The wake of our economic decline and the swell of the locavore movement (and, I must admit, increased sentimentality in my old age) makes this feeling stronger now than it ever has been before.  This, in turn, leads to …

Consumerism!  Buy, buy, buy!  Do I need it?  Maybe.  But now I have that one extra excuse I need…I should get it now!  Decades of training from advertisers, media, and my peers has made this another frightfully strong urge, one that I have learned to fight only through the strength of mantra “ohm….mygod remember your last credit card statement”.  When the mantra fails, and the purchase is made, we make it to …

Elation!  The product is wonderful, I’m happy I got it, and I’m actually using it!  This does happen occasionally…for instance, the simple Weber kettle grill I got two years ago, despite rare use and heavy neglect, is still immaculately rust-free and ready to do my high-octane bidding at will.

More often, however, the actual next step is a looming sense of disappointment that I squandered my limited resources on a product I’m not using.  For example, look at … err… everything else I own?

Once the roller coaster finishes, I’m generally just plain confused.  The phrase “Made in USA”, while able to evoke powerful emotions, seems poorly defined.  For instance, many products are actually assembled in the USA from parts manufactured overseas.  Kitchenaid, Toyota, and Honda are examples of this category.  Are they made in the USA?  Why aren’t all the interesting products at craft fairs hawking the term…do they have to pay a prohibitive fee to some licensing agency?

The answer is surprisingly practical.  It turns out there aren’t any certifications, licenses, or fees involved in putting the Made in USA logo or phrase on your product, just a carefully structured series of requirements that your product must meet.  There’s no proactive enforcement of these rules, but independent watchdogs and pissed-off consumers can rat out companies who don’t comply by calling the FTC’s 1-800-ITS-FAKE line.

Assuming the penalties for non-compliance are sufficiently harsh, this seems like a very practical mechanism…the FTC doesn’t have to spend money actively policing producers, but those producers have to worry that the consumers they’re hoping to lure in with the phrase don’t rat them out.  While I’m sure there’s plenty of ways to get away with breaking the rules (like having an inscrutable production process), so long as it keeps such skullduggery to a minimum, it qualifies as effective to me.

But why doesn’t every crafter and crocheter slap the label on their products?  My guess is that they’re part of the rare, intelligent breed that refuses to associate their products with poor grammar, and “Made in the USA” just doesn’t have the same punch.