My New Year’s resolution this year was to only buy clothes made in America. A few days later President Donald Trump entered office delivering a speech filled with nationalist rhetoric.
“We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.”
While it may not be possible for Trump to “bring the jobs back” that have gone overseas to Mexico and China, perhaps we as consumers actually can do something about the economy. If you have the means to buy more expensive clothing, why not buy American made versions of these products that support our own artists and designers? It is not just about supporting workers in our own economy; there is an ethical side to the push for products from within our nation. It is no secret that the major players in the global economy want to produce the most product for the least amount of money in the most efficient way. Why not keep jobs in America where there is a minimum wage, limits on hours a person can work, regulations against child labor and environmental protection laws?
This rings true in a report from the Economic Policy Institute, which states that 5.4 million manufacturing jobs and 82,000 factories were lost in the American economy between 1997 and 2013. One town hit hard by the move was Erwin, North Carolina, when Swift Denim left the U.S. for Mexico in November of 2000 leaving 800 employees of the former denim capital of the world without a job. This is not an isolated situation, and the results of this past election express a frustration from many of these former employees.
Trump has been vocal on efforts to move companies that have chosen to manufacture elsewhere to come to the U.S., including one familiar company: Apple. He started saying so last March and interestingly enough, in June, Apple asked two of its chief manufacturers to explore shifting its iPhone production to the U.S. These companies are not necessarily to blame for moving manufacturing plants overseas when Americans would rather pay the lower price. In an Associated Press-GfK poll, when individuals were asked if they would purchase a $50 pair of pants made in another country or an $85 pair made in the U.S., only 30 percent said they would dig deeper in their wallets for the American-made pair. What this poll does not tell you is what the reality is — consumers walk into a store and when confronted with two similar products, they buy the cheaper option. Some consumers may dish out a little more for a name brand, but whether this name brand manufactures their product in America or elsewhere is of little concern to the customer.
It should be of concern to us. The problem is that while we complain about all of the issues in the world, we are willing to do little to change these issues. In the 2016 election, only half the number of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 29 cast a ballot, and that was in a presidential election. While getting to the polls may be difficult or simply not worth it for many millennials, I would argue that the consumer can make powerful influences on policy with their spending decisions. The result of this is organic options in grocery aisles and recycling pickup in cities across the U.S. We should next demand more rights for workers across the world, and we can start by supporting efforts right here in America. If China and Mexico want our money, they must start treating their workers as human beings. According to Money Crashers, a 2015 report from the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights documents how Chinese workers who produce toys for American brands such as Hasbro, Mattel and Disney work 12- to 13-hour days and sleep on plywood bunk beds in crowded, dirty, and freezing dormitories. Let’s not forget the collapse of a clothing factory in Bangladesh in 2013 that killed 1,000 employees. Americans are starting to wake up to who is making the products they proudly own. This great article from The Good Trade highlights 35 fair-trade and ethical clothing brands to help you redesign your closet. If my shopping habits are encouraging this terrible kind of treatment, it is not worth it.
There are countless more reasons to start checking the country of origin and doing research on your purchases. Buying American will help the environment, as we have essentially outsourced our air pollution to other countries who have very few regulations. Buying American-made products will support American manufacturing jobs, which will reduce the unemployment rate and expand the tax base. The Center for Automotive Research estimates that every new job in auto manufacturing supports nine other jobs.
Whether you are graduating this semester or in four years, you probably care about having a career. This is not simply about assembly-line factories, but the future of careers in America. If we want our engineers to be the ones controlling the machines that make our vehicles or our textile and design students making the clothes we wear, we better start supporting jobs in our country.
Vote with your wallet; check the tag.
