By Gail Service

If you have money the chances are that you are willing to spend money. You might spend your dollars on gifts for loved ones, or on incidentals and practical needs. Whatever you spend your money on, chances are only some portion of that money goes into the American economy. Yes, you read it right, only some of your expenditure goes into our economy. If the product your purchasing happens to be foreign made as in the commonly seen “Made in China” label, the bulk of the profit is heading off shore. Wave goodbye!

So what do you do, if you prefer, that most of or all of your cash stayed in country and boosted our economy more? You would make sure that you buy 100% “American made” products. The “American made” or “Made in America” movement is a patriotic mission that seeks to keep dollars from commercial enterprises in the U.S.

As a consumer with a patriotic frame of mind, you can make sure that you are purchasing only American manufactured clothing with a little investigating, start by taking the following few steps.

• Inspect the label on the item of interest; the label will tell you where the item was manufactured, make note that the words “Made in the U.S.A.” are there.
• Use online search engines to find lists of companies that manufacture clothes in America. Sites such as Made in USA.org offer a list of many clothing manufacturers that offer American made clothing.
• There is the option of checking if the clothing business manufacturing the item or clothing line has a Registered Identification Number (RN). The RN is given only to textiles, wool and fur manufactures. The RN is a number issued to a U.S. based business by the Federal Trade Commission at their request.
• Calling the retailer of where you plan on purchasing the product should get you more detailed information on the assembly of the product. Many products are assembled here but pieces of the clothing could come from outside the U.S.

So who sez shopping isn’t a patriotic duty, it is, if you are purchasing “American made” products and putting your money into the commercial enterprises that produce those products. Buy an “American made” dress shirt, maybe a suit and tie too and help to boost the U.S. economy.