Frustrated by the crushingly slow economic recovery and repulsed by the destructive nature of American politics, I've been moving towards the certainty that change has to come from the bottom. The consumer. The little guy. In other words, me. This is nothing new, this is nothing earth-shattering, but it is becoming more and more apparent that it is the key. The key to regaining some economic strength and resiliency is going to have to come from us. All those little daily purchases. Where was it made? Is there an American-made alternative? Am I choosing American-made? If not, why?
Where better to start than my blog in terms of accountability? Not THAT many people read it so I might even get away with a slip or two. And who knows? The people who do read it might be tempted to join me. Hey, maybe we'll start an economic revolution!
The groundrules:
1. I look for the country of origin on every item I am considering buying.
2. If it is made outside of the United States, I look for an American-made alternative.
3. If I decide to buy the imported version, I must articulate why I did that.
I'm taking this challenge on for a year. Through August 31, 2013. It's going to be rough. I can see already that I'm not going to be able to easily justify some of my favorite shopping sites. Anthropologie? I think you are out for the most part unless I can get past the made in China stuff. Patagonia? Icebreaker? Sierra Trading Post? Nordstrom? WRANGLER for crying out loud? (made in Mexico). Will I be able to find a good pair of riding jeans made in America?
Cosmetics? Art supplies? Technology? It'll be interesting, at least for me, to really look at where all this is coming from. Not that I haven't before, but I haven't really made such a conscious effort to buy American-made. My friend, Carol, looks at the country of origin for every single thing she buys. Did you realize that OPI nail polish is made in America? Hooray!
I'm going to dive right in today with the last three purchases I made. I'm doing a photo booth this weekend, so I bought ink for the printer, photo paper, and photo booth props. Here's the lowdown:
Canon inkjet printer ink: Made in Japan
American alternative? Remanufactured ink cartridges may be purchased from: http://www.inkpal.com for a comparable cost.
Why didn't I buy it? Didn't know - now I do and I've bookmarked the page.
Kirkland Photo Paper: Made in Mexico
Canon Photo Paper: Made in China
American made alternative? Looks like Epson manufactures photo paper in the U.S.
Why didn't I buy it? Didn't know, but do now. Epson it is.
Photobooth props from etsy.com: I think I'm pretty safe here as etsy is a marketplace for handmade... so I'm willing to be these were made in Billings, Montana. Yay!
There it is.... my first Made in America post and I learned something. I hope you did too, and I hope you'll consider joining me in this journey.
Recent Comments