When I go shopping, I always try and look for items that are handmade in the USA. Recently, the artisan and craft community has been shrinking and struggling. It is hard to compete with producers who are making their items abroad and paying workers less than a living wage. I support the craft community because I am part of it, but also because I think that we should remember that cheaply made goods come at a cost to others. We should ask ourselves how it was that these items were made so cheaply, and what it might say about the conditions of labor of the people who made it. I wish the big local trend in food which has caused all these great farm to table restaurants would spill over into other industries.
But hopefully it is! I recently stumbled upon a blog called MadeinUSA.LA which is an awesome site run by Mary Beth. She is committed to directing people to companies that are still producing locally. I got in touch with her and now we have been listed among many other great businesses. Check out our post here!
Another great site for made in the USA inspiration is Mrs. American Made. She has a tumblr and a Facebook and always looks amazing! She shared on Facebook that she recently bought a pair of earrings- we are so happy! Hope they show up on the blog.
Anyway here is a link to her blog.
Be sure to check out both sites and thanks again for reading!
-Michal