The Refinishing Touch Blog

A trend we've started noticing recently has us wondering just how broadly the term "manufactured" is actually being defined throughout our nation. A common trend has turned our attention to the amount of products which wear the beloved "Made in America" label and has us wondering whether "made" means manufactured or simply assembled within our nation's borders.

By Merriam-Webster standards, the origin of the word "Manufacture" is Middle French, coming from the Medieval Latin word manufactura, originating from the Latin manu factus, literally meaning, made by hand. The growing trend we've been seeing is that manufacturers are bringing pieces of products that have been made overseas to be assembled in the United States. In fact, typically none of these pieces are actually made here. Once the assembly takes place on our soil, manufacturers are free to brand them as having been "Made in America."

If you went into a car dealership, bought a car that had BMW's logo on the front of it but all of the parts were made by Kia and BMW only put those pieces together, you would be mad when you find out because it's misleading to you as a consumer. Where is the outrage by American consumers for being misled in a very similar way on a much larger scale?

In a time where pennies are being spent frivolously and Americans are concerned about supporting the national economy, how can we be sure a product which says "Made in America" on it has actually been made and assembled in the United States? There are websites out there that claim to sell products 100% authentically manufactured from start to finish in the US, but they are few and far between. And even for them, there is no way to know whether "100% authentically manufactured" means that their products truly are. They can add all the percentages and guarantees they want and say things like "100% truly authentically really honestly 110% manufactured in America – we swear 150%!" but if it doesn't clearly say that it was both made and assembled in the US, there is no way to know for sure.

As an American grown business, we fully support the authenticity of products officially being Made in America. That is why we're proud that from beginning to end, our environmentally safe processes promise the integral quality that US manufacturers strive for.

Labels: America, assembly, manufacturing