A Reminder: Why Shop Small?
Why do we need to make an everyday effort to support small businesses?
It’s easy to forget that people’s livelihoods are tied to these products and that by choosing to purchase these items you can make a tangible difference in someone’s life.
It's All For Show
Behind the scenes of big retail, there’s a whole lot going on. From deceptive labeling scandals, like when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Williams Sonoma $3.17 million for repeatedly misrepresenting products as Made in USA (Forbes, 2024), to Amazon actively dumping over 700 million pounds of their supposedly "recyclable" plastic packaging into landfills each year (Daily Mail, 2024), it’s clear that these companies are anything but transparent or truthful.
That’s why we can’t help but roll our eyes (big time) when we see ads from these companies virtue-signaling, detailing their “sustainability” initiatives and going on and on about why they’re so great and how much they care about their workers. The fact is, most big-dogs don’t put their money where their mouth is.
Image credit goes to Simon Kneebone
We've Outsourced Enough
We all know that many of the products we use every day come from China—but do you know just how many? American Homes, Made in China (below) takes a closer look at the extent of our dependence on imported goods from China. From clothing and furniture to toys and appliances, the majority of items in our homes are sourced from overseas.
While global trade plays an important role in a connected world, we (like many of you) believe the pendulum has swung too far. In our opinion, a much larger portion of our supply chains would ideally be kept domestic so that we could ensure product quality, worker safety and create a wider variety of trade jobs for American workers.
We know that a lot of the items on this list are not exactly “replaceable” via domestic producers at the moment (for example, it may be very difficult to find a made in the USA toaster). Still, in the meantime we can make an effort to purchase items from domestic suppliers that are readily available, like pots and pans or blankets.
It’s not about being perfect, it’s about making a bit of an effort to support domestic alternatives where possible. Note, this is not intended to be a political stance. We simply believe that by supporting our economy through increased manufacturing, we create stronger communities and more opportunities for people in this country!
Image credit goes to Etta Hulme
American Homes, Made in China
The average US citizen relies heavily on Chinese-manufactured goods for their everyday needs, according to Gallup News:
- 90-100% of artificial plants, children’s books, toasters, kitchen flasks, microwave ovens, alarm clocks, baby buggies, fireworks, clothing hangers and more are made in China.
- 80-90% of games consoles, blenders, knife blocks, pots and pans, dishes, Christmas decorations, nail care tools, makeup brushes and blankets are made in China.
- 70-80% of picture frames, computers, wall clocks, lamps, scissors, utensils, hairdryers and furniture are made in China.
