If you are concerned about your country's economy, be aware of what you are buying. Look to see where things are manufactured. Start looking carefully.

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Another concern that has come up in recent years is the safety and health alerts about goods made abroad. More consumers want to know where the products they use come from.

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For me, that means looking for things that are made in the USA.

I do not mean to offend anyone with this hub, but if you come from another country, the main idea may be applicable to you too.

If you want to help your own economy, you can purchase items that are made at home. By helping small businesses in our own neighborhoods, we can show our support and loyalty to our own countries.

My Discoveries

I was in Lowe's the other day for some reason looking at hose attachments. They were all made in China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware and was curious, so I checked the hose attachments there. They were all made in USA.

My favorite toothpaste, Colgate, I discovered, is made in Mexico... now I have switched to Crest. You can find out a lot by reading the labels on what you buy.

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico. So, I look for another chocolate bar made in the USA.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60-watt light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats, and they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the "Everyday Value" brand...but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in Mexico and the Everyday Value brand was made in the U.S.A. at a company in Cleveland, Ohio.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here in America.

On to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets. You guessed it, Bounce costs more money and is made in Canada. The "Everyday Value" brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday, and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

My challenge for all of us is to start reading the labels when we shop for everyday things and see what we can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbor's!

Maybe we would not be in such a bad situation economically if we had awoken to this a decade ago.

Help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A where possible. You may find that many things on our shelves are NOT made in the U.S.A. I heard on the radio today that we import billions of dollars more than we export in the United States. Surprise, surprise!

I have read that imported produce sold in a package must identify its country of origin, but loose produce in bins does not require any labeling.

A brand name including "America", or a state or city on the label does not constitute made-in-america status.

Some products may have been come from America originally, sent to another country for processing and packaging before being imported to the United States. An example is Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon which comes from Alaska, detoured to Thailand and then sold in the U.S.

ConsumerReports.org suggests that labels may not always tell the truth. They have said that if the label says "made in the USA ", the claim means that "all or virtually all " significant processes and parts were made in the United States.

According to them, "qualified " labels such as "made in the USA or U.S." and "imported parts." are also allowed. However, companies must be able to back up these types of claims.

Another thing to look for is "packaged in " or "designed in " as well as "made in " or "assembled in " which refers to the actual country where it was manufactured. If the Federal Trade Commission is aware that marketers use vague or standalone terms, for example, a product which may have been invented in Seattle, but made in Bangladesh and bears the label "created in the U.S. ", they could be in trouble.

Oftentimes, a package has a seal that claims it was "certified made in USA ", but elsewhere on the product it may show that certain components have been imported. The Federal Trade Commission considers it okay if the majority of the manufacturing cost of the item was in the US.

So-called American Cars

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at least 75 per cent of the value of a car (including labor and parts) must be made in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. Ford's Fusion, Milan and MKZ have at least 60% of their content made elsewhere.

Buy Made In the USA

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