and Liberty for all…

This Sunday, our nation will celebrate Independence Day, commemorating the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration preamble reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Remember, as you gather, family, friends and neighbors, that the tools to rebuild, the weapons with which to win the battles ahead, lie firmly within the grasp of even the least of us: BUY AMERICAN, and buy locally-owned.
It is the position of An American Footprint that every purchase should be Made in the USA origin, but if there is no alternative, please buy from an American-owned company and sold by an American-locally-owned retailer. It really matters…
Read this in case you asked that three-letter-word question
Happy Independence Day, America!

Barcodes reveal Country of Origin?

Bar codes don't always tell the whole story as to an item's country of origin

We received a helpful email from a neighbor which stated the following:
“The whole world is afraid of China-made “black hearted goods”.Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China ?

If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690, 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.”

We were naturally curious and when we discovered some answers, figured we’d add it to our blog to further everyone’s pursuit of better shopping habits:
Snopes’ article helped us to discover the truth of the matter and their ending quote says it all:
“In determing the country of origin of a product sold within the U.S., consumers should still look for “Made in [country name]” labels on the packaging.”
If this is not readily apparent, ask your store manager or use the contact information provided to you on the item’s labels.
It helps all of us to make the effort and to choose the American owned, produced and locally-sold option where ever possible.
Links:
Snopes
Shop American Made here
and on our
List of American manufacturers, business, entrepreneurs and service providers.

June 14 is Flag Day

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 commemorating the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on that date by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.
June 14 as Flag Day was officially established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson’s proclamation; in August 1949, National Flag Day was created by an Act of Congress.
Although Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, in 1937 Pennsylvania became the first and only U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday.
It makes common sense to buy only American flags made in the USA, and think about the items emblazoned with Old Glory’s likeness that are mass-produced overseas by large companies to entice patriotic American consumers to purchase in tremendous quantities.
Fly your flag proudly, but don’t forget the story behind the colors, and to live your patriotic pride everyday.

 Our country needs you to check labels, inquire as to origin and of course be aware of ownership of companies you spend money with. Buy locally, buy from locally-owned and our foundation will once again grow strong.
For more history on Flag Day, visit this link at Wikipedia
For Flag etiquette, see this link at USFlag.org
A A great place to start when looking to buy American

It’s in the Jeans

Denim clothing, blue jeans in particular, is an American wardrobe staple, a symbol associated with the United States of America although none of the Levis and token few Lee and Wrangler are made within the US borders by Americans anymore.
Brands like Levi-Strauss and Lee jeans began as manufacturers of what quickly became the “working class uniform” of the American worker.
“In September 2003 Levi announced that it would close the last of its North American manufacturing plants, laying off almost 2,000 workers. The company said it would it would shutter two plants in San Antonio by the end of the year, displacing 800 workers there and marking the end of its U.S. manufacturing operations and would discontinue its Canadian operations in March, ending 1,190 jobs at three plants in Alberta and Ontario. Levi uses about 500 contractors to produce its apparel in 50 countries, including Mexico, China and Bangladesh. Workers’ rights activists and labor organizers protested at Levi’s San Francisco factory to voice their outrage after the company’s decision to close six of the last eight U.S. plants, and cutting 3,600 jobs internationally. The San Francisco plant’s 100 workers, who will lose their jobs in June, will receive a lump-sum payment and two weeks’ severance for every year of service. Declining revenue and increasing costs are Levi’s reasons cited for moving production overseas.” [5] ”
Shopping at a vintage or resale store, you can still find the Made in USA variety of many of these labels, and in most cases they are fully wearable, functional and ready for years more wear.
There are still many choices for new Made in America jeans; we’ve listed several here with links to their sites. Most if not all of them will be featured on The List. Prices are comparable with foreign-made jeans, and quality is as good or better.
Encourage your local retailers to carry these instead of the outsourced alternatives.
Americans need work so let’s keep them working.

Made in America:
NYDJ
Prison Blues
All American
Pointer Brand
Certified Jean of Seattle
Diamond Gusset Jeans
True Religion Brand Jeans
Adriano Goldschmied Jeans
Del Forte Denim
Delta Blues Jeans Company
Union Made Clothing
Schaefer Outfitter
Buddys Jeans
Patriot Made
Todd Shelton Jeans

Links:
Independent Lens – China Blue, an independent film exposing the blue jean industry.
Source Watch’s page on Levi Strauss
Responsible Shopper – Levi Strauss

Lou Dobbs: Buy American – Hire American

Buy American – drive the American economy

(thanks to the Level Field Institute for borrowing their slogan for this article)
According to Cars.com, these are the top vehicles made in the USA and how they rank.
Rightfully, Ford and GM dominate the list; both are American manufacturers as is newcomer to the list Chrysler (“DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group, by the way, still qualifies as “American” because it is an entire self-contained car company based in America employing tens of thousands of Americans at all levels that happens to be owned by a German company, just as Opel is a self-contained German company owned by General Motors.”), but what are Toyota and Honda doing there?
An article at USStuff.com lists the cars of 2009 and also includes the qualifier “US-Owned” which is just as important as where they are made.
Some might claim that a Japanese car assembled in America using a token amount of U.S. content is more “American” than a U.S.-brand car assembled in Canada or Mexico with a pecentage of foreign-made parts.
This just isn’t true.
Think about it: Where are the majority of the higher-paying jobs and profits going?
A mere half of Toyotas sold in the USA were actually manufactured here and compare the approximately 368,000 jobs the Japanese manufacturer claims to support in the US with the nearly 2 million of General Motors and 1.2 million supported by Ford.
Even if your Ford Fusion was built in Mexico, it is more vital to the United States economy to purchase that car than it is a Honda built in Ohio.
An American car is just that: built by an American-owned company.
It’s not just a patriotic duty, it’s in our own self-interest especially when most domestic autos are now truly competitive in design, engineering, quality and fuel economy.
“Because whatever business they are in, every time “Detroit” and its struggling U.S. auto suppliers shed another 10,000, or 20,000, or 30,000 American workers, that multiplies to hundreds of thousands who can no longer afford whatever goods or services their own employers sell.” (quote from)
Links:
The Level Field Institute where you can find out the real value of US Auto jobs: “What you drive drives America.”

The Boss does Wal-Mart

What do you think about Bruce’s choice to market his new CD exclusively through Wal-Mart?
In an article at the Huffington Post, it is touted as a “mistake.”
Really?

Harley Davidson lays off 1100

In an article at Motorcycle News, we see more effect of the economic downturn on an American standard:
“Harley-Davidson is laying off 1100 of its staff after posting a 58% loss in profits.

Sales of the firm’s machines are reported to have fallen by 13.1% in the third quarter of the financial year. However, sales of the firm’s bikes in Europe and the UK have actually risen by 3% in the same period.”
Read the entire article Here.
In spite of this, the Kansas City plant rolled out its millionth Harley on January 13, 2009

For want of a blender

Walk into any kitchen supply store and ask for a Made in the USA small appliance (in this case a blender).
Chances are slim that they will know of any. The boxes were not marked to assist with the goal.
You either walk out of the store to continue your search, or give up and go home with the overseas-made alternative, choosing instant gratification in lieu of patriotic spending.
The former was Bill’s course of action. To phone he went, calling the KitchenAid help line where he received a quick tutorial on what is made where and how much of it is made in any given country.
So armed with model numbers, our hero went in search of a new blender.
A friendly email was sent at the same time and this was the response, three days later.
After all this research, driving and clicking, it was determined that the original store had the blender after all, for a reasonable price.
The outcome? Purchase made, store clerks duly educated and the blender’s great!
It’s like the proverbial needle in a haystack; finding that one item even within one manufacturer, but there’s hope.
If America is to work, we have to buy American-made, American-owned to (re)build America.

The high price of ‘free’ trade

Jobs have been lost to NAFTA in every US State (from the Economic Policy Institute) click for article