Made in the USA: What It All Means
Not all products require a country of origin label. However, those that do, including those under the jurisdiction of the Wool Products Labeling Act and the Textile Fiver Products Identification Act, are often a subject of this blog. I just received a newsletter form MadeByYankees and it hits upon the FTC standards for labeling an item Made in the USA:
Though many products do not require labeling‚ if a company chooses to label‚ they must adhere to the guidelines issued by the FTC. First and foremost if a product is labeled or advertised as Made in USA‚ either expressly or implied‚ it must be “all or virtually all” made in the USA. “ ‘All or virtually all’ means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is‚ the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.”3 This definition
seems simple enough but wait. Read on….
I did some more research on what “negligible foreign materials meant, and that took me back to the FTC wesbite HERE
In this analysis, raw materials(18) are neither automatically included nor automatically excluded in the evaluation of whether a product is all or virtually all made in the United States. Instead, whether a product whose other parts and processing are of U.S. origin would not be considered all or virtually all made in the United States because the product incorporated imported raw materials depends (as would be the case with any other input) on what percentage of the cost of the product the raw materials constitute and how far removed from the finished product the raw materials are.(19) Thus, were the gold in a gold ring, or the clay used to make a ceramic tile, imported, an unqualified “Made in USA” claim for the ring or tile would likely be inappropriate.(20) This is both because of the significant value the gold and the clay are likely to represent relative to the finished product and because the gold and the clay are only one step back from the finished articles and are integral components of those articles. By contrast, were the plastic in the plastic case of a clock radio that was otherwise all or virtually all made in the United States found to have been made from imported petroleum, the petroleum is far enough removed from, and an insignificant enough input into, the finished product that it would nonetheless likely be appropriate to label the clock radio with an unqualified U.S. origin claim.
So, when you see something with the Made in the USA label, you can be assured that it has for all intents and purposes, been made in America. There are, from time to time, violations in which the Federal Trade Commission monitors. In 1999, Abercrombie & Fitch was noted for its failure to list the country of origin for a wool product advertised in their catalog, and sold it in their store.
Historical Fact: Garments that were labeled Made in the USA beginning in 1996 must comply with FTC regulations. A variation on the label is a “Assembled in the USA” label which means the item was manufactured in the United States using parts of a foreign source, or a large amount of foreign materials.
Made in Usa, Japan label: There is also some confusion over a label that states “Made in Usa, Japan.” There is in fact a province or area called Usa in Japan. These garments started appearing in the United States in the 60s, imported from Japan. Usa is a real place that has been there for centuries but it has caused confusion.
When you are out and about, watch those labels. It will probably make you more conscious of just who is making your clothing, or exactly what is going into them, if you are attempting to support as many American made products as possible.
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