Would you rather buy an American-made product or one that’s been imported?

If you were to ask that question of any American consumer, they’d probably tell you that they’d rather buy an American-made product. In fact, a survey by Consumer Reports published in May of 2015, 8 in 10 Americans said that exact thing.

However, actions speak louder than words, and we can’t ignore the fact that though a lot of people say they want to buy American, far fewer people actually do, even when tools like our promotional product search engine make products easy to find. Why is there such a big difference?

The answer is more complicated than you might think.

The Benefits of Buying American

For some, the benefits of buying American are obvious. It’s patriotic. It’s intelligent. Buying American means that you know exactly where the product came from, and it’s often of a higher quality than what’s imported.

But there are many other benefits to buying American. These include:

  1. It provides jobs for future generations.
  2. You’re promoting American independence.
  3. Manufacturing in the US is often better for the environment than in other places.
  4. You can be sure that the labor standards are fair.
  5. It boosts American investment opportunities.
  6. The finished product has a guaranteed level of quality.
  7. The workers who made your product did so under fair and safe conditions.
  8. The USA has a trade deficit. Buying American helps to reduce it.
  9. Avoiding imports also means avoiding political debates.
  10. You can keep the business in the US. Once something is outsourced, it rarely returns.

In short? Buying American makes us a stronger country, both socially and economically.

With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why so many people say they only buy American. But this brings us back to our original point. Why are imported products still so popular in the United States??

The Drawbacks

The main issue is this: While buying American matters to a lot of people, buying cheaper often matters more.

Because buying American is often more expensive than buying imported, may people see buying imported products as the more economical solution.

Saving money often seems like a smart business decision. So it’s no wonder that so many people wind up buying imported products, even when they say they’d rather buy American.

It also doesn’t help when brands like American Apparel exploit the “American-made” label in the heat of controversy. When situations like that arise, many Americans are probably left wondering: is buying American really worth it?

Our Thoughts

Our answer to that question is: yes.

There are so many reputable American companies out there. As a small, family-owned business, we know that better than anyone. That’s why we are happy to report that many of our Promotional Product suppliers offer items that are made in the USA. What’s more, they’re often offered at competitive prices.

As an American printing company, we do our part to work with American-made products. We still buy our paper for our commercial printing projects from select paper mills located in the USA. and so do many of our print partners. We do this even though the number of paper mills in the US has gotten smaller.

Why? Because we believe in supporting American business for better products.

Call us today. Let’s create something amazing (and affordable) together.

If you would like to learn more about us or our line of print-related marketing services, please contact us online and schedule a no-obligation consultation or call 1-800-535-6563 to get started today!