Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
(Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV)
For years I wanted to approach this subject, but every year I ‘chickened out’. You know why? Because I don’t want to come of as harsh or as Miss-Know-It-All on this subject. Believe me, a lot of prayers went into this project.
My series is not political motivated; nor do I write out of patriotism (I am just as passionate about German made merchandise). Why is “Made in America” so important to a German gal living in America? Two words: Child Hunger.
You see, for me “Made in America” and eradicating child hunger go hand in hand. If people living in America do not have work, how can they supply food for their families/children? If you read the statistics (unfortunately only 2010 numbers are available that this time), it is very disheartening to see 20% of children are hungry in this rich country. And that is not counting children that live in insecure food-environments. I am thankful for local and national food banks that assist families, but I don’t think that will solve the issue at hand.
At the end of 2004, our then 19-year-old son pointed us to a documentary. I believe that the company highlighted in this documentary is highly responsible for the vanishing manufacturing jobs in the United States. I haven’t set food in their stores since I watched the documentary.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that many have to shop there, because of the budget they have for the basic necessities like food. I am blessed that I live in a large city that has different options to shop for groceries (like our Arizona based grocery chain – Bashas and AJ’s). Actually Target started to have bigger grocery sections in our area. Like I said, I have more options in a big city than people living in rural areas.
But I digress. The biggest issue is that America imports more than it exports. The most current foreign trade data is from November of 2011. The gap between exports and imports is scary to me. Trade is good, but it needs to be more balanced.
So, what can I (personally) do to turn things around in America? Maybe it is just a drop of water in a large bucket?!? But if we all look at what we buy (one product at a time), we maybe can do this together and help Americans put food on their family’s table. I want to support American families and not necessarily American companies (not the same in all cases which I will show you).
Over the next several months, I will link to products that are made in America. Not only will I link to the products, but will also purchase them (some are already in my possession :wink:). And you, my dear readers, will be able to ‘cash-in’ as well on some of the products that are made in America (sorry, can’t give away a Viking kitchen appliance).
Thank you so much for reading my blog today and hopefully you will join me on a journey to buy more American made products to lower the child hunger in this country.
She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
(Proverbs 31:20 ESV)
Love & peace,
Iris
Amen.
Iris,
You bring up a good point that is so often overlooked! I agree that we need to depend less on other countries for our products and more on our own. In order to increase jobs in this country, we need to slow down on imports and make the import/export system more even. Made in the USA is a label I like to see. When families in this country are employed then they are more able to provide, not only for children here, but also abroad.
Blessings, Joan
Great post Iris! I try to buy local products even if they are slightly more expensive than national brands (Tillamook cheese and ice cream are my favorites). Knowing that those dollars are supporting local farmers and families is nice! I do need to be more conscientious of other items though – clothing, household items, etc.
Iris, this is wonderful, my friend. My husband is a big supporter of American made and will only buy clothing made here in the US. We also make a point of supporting local small businesses as well. I’m looking forward to what you share down the road.mits not always easy to find US products…sadly.
Thanks Iris for calling our attention to this. I look forward to the series.
Very insightful post! It’s a great reminder to all of us to stop and look before we buy, I know I don’t do that near enough.
Also, thanks for your comment on my blog!
Iris,
You are talking about a subject I’m sure many of us have as a concern. I pray God’s blessing over you as you continue to share over the coming weeks as you share!
Blessings to you dear sister!
Wherever we live we feel it is important to buy local. Here in Belize we shop at locally owned businesses and buy Belizean products when we have a choice. When we are home in America we prefer to buy American. What documentary did you watch? I would be interested in watching it too!
As a small “mom and pop” business here in Florida, after spending thousands of dollars from our life savings to have our invention patented and trademarked, we had the decision of “making large profit” over “Made In America.
Three years into retailing our products solely over the Internet I as well as our valued customers agree we made the right decision. We can now insure that jobs will stay here and we can donate one dollars from each sale to our local non-profit organization that provides hot meals to hungry children and the homeless. Let’s all “Do Our Part” to become a part of supporting our economy and not that of China.
Insist on shopping and buying “Made In America” products and stay away from “Made In China” to contribute to a stronger economy for all.
This is very interesting to me and I appreciate you sharing about it and educating me. Thank you. I look forward to the other posts in this series.
Bethany
I am so with you on this… I try and buy Made in America. I avoid Wally World as much as possible (I check the Walmart Watch site to see what’s up with them… not always good). I try to buy local and homemade or from local cottage industries as well. There is no excuse for hunger in our rich country. Thank you for sharing this important subject. God Bless!
Awesome Iris,
American Made my friend. Thank you and I’m looking forward to more. Hugging you today. Lynn
America needs to encourage industry and hopefully after this coming election we will receive help in that direction. I can remember in many States, the cotton mills who produced thread and materials for socks, towels, linens, shirts, womens clothing, underwear to name only a few. The unions have forced many plants to close as they went elsewhere as they could not afford the high wages and benefits required. Government and Unions should not have so many controls so that companies must close their doors or go overseas to stay in business. God Bless America and May she rekindle her right to enterprise.
I’m so glad you’re writing this series Iris! I have to admit that the past few years have been so challenging for me after we had to move that I look for the best bargains. Now that things are starting to improve, I will be more cognizant of theses facts and take note. I do go to local Farmer’s markets when I can to buy local vegetables and fruits. 🙂
Thank you for the links. I got carried away though at the Viking site as we need appliances. But I’ll take some time to watch that documentary.
Blessings and love,
Debbie