On Black Friday, Buy American

LJWorld.com weblogs Random Thoughts from the Lab

Posted by Labmonkey November 27, 2008 at 3:10 a.m.

If you still have a secure job, you should be very thankful. Unfortunately, millions of Americans do not have that luxury with the current state of the economy. As the domestic manufacturing base shrinks, many Americans' jobs teeter on a thread. One thing we can all do this holiday season when we go shopping is to research the gifts we purchase, and buy American made whenever possible. While looking through a Walmart ad, I could not help but be disgusted at the prices of their Black Friday sales. All I could think of were the American jobs lost thanks to this price slashing. Walmart forces wholesalers to slash their prices to the bone, which means they end up outsourcing and making a cheaper quality product overall. This has killed the quailty of once famous brands such as Wrangler and Levis, and have forced others such as Vlasic (remember the stork) into bankruptcy. If you have a secure job, please consider your family member's or your neighbor's job that could be teetering in this economy. If your job isn't quite as secure, consider your own. If every American spent a few extra minutes and a few extra dollars for high-quality, Ameican made goods, and demanded more from the companies we buy from, we could save millions and perhaps create thousands of high-quailty jobs. I am not going to preach without giving a few leads....unionlabel.com for high quality, union made clothing (I love the jeans I have received from here).stillmadeinusa.com is a good lead to American made items.If you are looking for a television, consider an Olevia. These are assembled in Ontario, California and are sold at Target.For tools, I believe that Sears Craftsman tools are still made in the United States, although you need to check the label.If you have a teenager wanting some higher end jeans, consider Luckys which you can buy at Nordstrom, Macy's, or the Buckle. Just be sure to look at the label as some have been outsourced.Justin boots, and some New Balance running shoes are made in the United States. Just be sure to look at the tongue to see where they are made.

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Alia Ahmed 4 years, 5 months ago

labmonkey-Thanks for the reminder about buying American made. Happy Thanksgiving!

tangential_reasoners_anonymous 4 years, 5 months ago

Not familiar with the origin of this rather dark sounding opening day of the holiday shopping season, I went looking..."The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit)."