Buy Local - A Call To Action

Why Companies Manufacture Overseas
Companies have nearly $500 billion stashed abroad that can be taxed here at home. There are several reasons why companies choose to manufacture overseas;  I am sure that the financial benefits take precedence. To read what I have to say about the cost of manufacturing overseas click here.

My work wife, Melissa, and I chose to keep our products made locally for several reason. If you have interest; here is the back story. 


What YOU can do
>Contact lawmakers<
If our lawmakers revoke the tax breaks for overseas manufacturing and bring the big companies back to the USA, I believe that our economic future would look brighter. I humble suggest contacting our lawmakers and demanding that they stop giving companies incentives to manufacture overseas.

Here is a link with all the Congressmen and Congresswomen's contact information and here is a link that lists the Senators.

>Buy Made in the USA<
I am no economist but I am fairly certain that if Americans buy products made in the USA and support our mom and pop shops, it would make a difference.
 
Why Buy Local
Buying products made in the USA supports our local economy by providing jobs, which support families and generate domestic spending. Buying domestic also reduces the environmental impact by eliminating energy to ship goods internationally. Refusing to buy anything made outside of America will be a challenge for sure. While clothing and food are easier to find locally; I could not find any cell phones that are made in the USA nor could I find televisions. I did find this site that lists made in the USA products. *Note to self; get LolliDoo® listed*

Melissa and I manufacture in the USA using domestic components because we strongly feel that WE can make a difference, and SO CAN YOU! Next time you go shopping, instead of hitting Target or WalMart; try checking out a local mom and pop shop.

Read labels; I cannot reiterate this enough. Oftentimes folks believe that they are purchasing something made in the USA because the company is based out of the US when in actuality the goods are manufactured overseas. Additionally your items may be manufactured in the USA but the components are from overseas. It's not easy to find 100% American made goods.

I'm sure that this is a simple answer to a complex problem but I am confident that small changes make a big difference.

I LOVE LolliDuos™

My Work Wife Melissa has created the greatest diaper ever! The all new LolliDuo™ is fantastic for several reasons; here are my five favorites:

• The LolliDuo™ is a truly versatile one-size cloth diaper. You can use is as a diaper cover, a pocket diaper OR you can use it as a diaper cover but stuff it for extra absorbency. 
• LolliDuos™ are trim enough for daytime use but thirsty enough for overnight.
• The entire diaper saves at least six water bottles from going to the landfill. This is because the high quality performance fleece, that we are now known for,  is  made from recycled bottles.
• We have several super cute color combinations.
• You can choose snap or hook and loop closure.

Want to see more? Click here.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Miss Ellie in a LolliDuo™ - she was around 9lbs in these photos and as you can see, they fit her really well.

Don't believe me? Read what other folks are saying.

I honestly believe that Melissa deserves a HUGE Hooray for her genius in designing all LolliDoo® diapers. Well done Melissa, well done!

The Cost of Manufacturing Overseas

When my father was a kid growing up in Cleveland - everything was made in the USA. In fact, Ohio had a large thriving garment industry. Unfortunately that's not the case anymore and that includes just about every marketable good.

Ohio Knitting Mill

It's not just limited to the textile industry; analysts predict as many as two million U.S. white-collar jobs such as programmers, software engineers and applications designers will shift to low cost centers by 2014.

I know why.

American computer programmers earn about $60,000, while their Indian counterparts only make $6,000.

Take that and apply it to just about every industry.

Overseas locations receive preference because of the low wages they are able to pay for labor. In China they are able to pay .30 cents an hour! The U.S. cannot require foreign governments to impose a minimum wage or safety regulations. Additionally, U.S. companies have no employee benefits to pay - more money in their pockets. Lastly and most concerning is that they are exempt from environmental as well as safety regulations.


Of course in these economic times consumers want to get the highest quality goods at foreign prices. I hate to tell you but that really isn't happening folks. While you may be able to purchase goods at low prices - what is the real cost? Was a child working in a sweatshop for pennies a day to sew your jeans? Are your baby toys full of lead? How about your beauty products - if they are foreign made they aren't subjected to the same health regulations that are required in the USA and Canada.

Sweatshop in India using child labor

I'm not saying all foreign products are suspect - I'm sure there are some fine quality items out there. However, generally speaking, if you go into a Target or WalMart and purchase say a cashmere sweater that you know should cost upwards of $100 for $25-chances are it wasn't made under the best conditions.

Personally, I’ve never had the “buy cheap stuff made overseas” mindset but I know a lot of people have become accustomed to it. I respectfully request that we all boycott foreign made goods. Our jobs, our health and our environment is at stake. I realize that American made products are more costly and there is a very good reason why. Products that are made in the USA and Canada not only follow the health and safety guidelines but adult American citizens who are paid American wages.

*Disclaimer: This is my opinion, please take it for what it's worth.

Black Friday Sale at LolliPlace.com

Updated eco-pocket diagram

Click on the image for a larger view

You Cannot Get High By Smoking Hemp!

Hemp forests can grow in under a year - making this an extremely sustainable textile - if only we could produce it.


My partner Melissa and I really would love to use hemp in some of our products. The issue - we are committed to manufacturing in the USA of components in the USA and hemp is banned in the USA.

Hemp is the subject of worldwide controversy that involves farmers, government enforcement agencies, environmentalists, supporters of legalized drugs, and manufacturers of textile, food and paper products. The controversy stems from the fact that the hemp plant, "Cannabis sativa" comes in several varieties, one of which is the marijuana plant. The growing of hemp was banned in the United States in 1937. The ban made no distinction between the two kinds of hemp. Industrial hemp used for textiles contains only about 0.3% THC as opposed to 2% THC in marijuana. THC is the potentially psychoactive chemical in marijuana and is not presently, nor historically, found in significant quantities in the hemp plant. You cannot get high smoking hemp, and it would be almost impossible to inhale because of its harshness. Industrial hemp has no illicit use, and many activists’ state that hemp is the equivalent of nonalcoholic beer.

read more at http://www.fabrics.net/amyhemp.asp

Hemp has an amazing ability to absorb moisture, it's sustainable, biodegradable and psychoactive free - so why is it that hemp - one of the most baby friendly fabrics available - cannot be manufactured in the USA?

I had heard about marijuana being legal in California. I was in Venice last week and I was absolutely astounded that there were pot pharmacies on every corner. I felt like I was in another country. If pot is legal, why the flig flam flog can't I get some domestically sourced hemp?

California is the first state that would directly challenge the federal ban on hemp, arguing that it does not need a D.E.A. permit.

read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/us/28hemp.html?ex=1314417600&en=0acff81da4fb87ac&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

This doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why for $150 can anyone in California buy a marijuana "prescription" but a truly sustainable fiber made from a cousin of the marijuana plant is illegal?

Who wants to be a lobbyist?

Made Here, Baby!

I had the opportunity to speak with Bruce Wolk, the author of Made Here, Baby!-an extensive compilation of American manufacturers of children's products. Bruce interviewed over 400 American manufacturers in order to provide the public with this amazing resource.

As you probably know, a lot of the products in our households are foreign made. Buying foreign products directly impacts our economy, puts our children at risk for lead and phthalate poisoning and supports unfair working environments.


Made Here, Baby! guides you to safe, quality, American-made products for new moms, preemies, infants, toddlers, preschool, school age and beyond, including toys, games, puzzles, diaper bags, carriers, car seats, baby products, clothing, shoes, bedding, furniture, sporting goods, and much, much more.

For what it's worth, the reason that all textile components of LolliDoo® Diapers come from the United Statesis that buying products made in the USA supports our local economy by providing jobs which support families and generate domestic spending. Buying domestic also reduces the environmental impact by saving energy required to ship goods internationally.

Support your country, protect your children and educate yourself about the products you buy by checking out his website and ordering your copy of Made Here, Baby! today.

Why Made in the USA?

When Melissa and I started Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, one of our most important values was that all our products are made in the USA. Not only do want to support our stagnant economy but we believe that in order to be truly eco-friendly, we have to do our best to conserve resources. Even though it is significantly less expensive to manufacture overseas, the waste of fuel is considerable.

I wonder why it is that our laws promote economic growth for other countries and leave the USA in the dust. According to a 2006 government report, many U.S. companies, cloth diaper companies included, employ hundreds of workers overseas which obviously means more economic growth for other countries and less for the USA. Companies have nearly $500 billion stashed abroad that can be taxed here at home. That blows my mind.

While politicians would have you believe that they are going to do something about American companies producing overseas, our tax code actually rewards overseas companies.

““The U.S. tax code is set up so that if I am a U.S. corporation trying to create jobs in Ohio or Ireland, it will point me towards Ireland.”

Says Martin Sullivan, a contributing editor at Tax Analysts.

This is so frustrating for companies like ours who are trying to make an exceptional product domestically. I assume, (yes I know what happens when you assume things), that it is also troublesome for other U.S. manufacturers who cannot compete financially with foreign manufacturers.

Melissa and I are dedicated to producing LolliDoo® Diapers, and product lines entirely in the USA. That means that the fabrics, sewing, labels and notions are made in the USA. Even the PET bottles that are recycled and used in the Ecospun® are domestic.

What does that mean for the consumer?

It means that LolliDoo® will never be a bargain brand. It means that they can be confident in the knowledge that no human rights were violated in the production of their diaper; all contractors are paid a fair wage. It also means that there is less fuel wasted on the transport of LolliDoo® Diapers, so they are helping conserve virgin resources.

Purchasing a LolliDoo® Diaper and accessories means that the consumer can feel confident that they are investing in an environmentally friendly, economically stimulating product that surpasses the average in that it’s handcrafted, made in the USA, recycled and recyclable.

LolliDoo® Be part of the solution, right from the very beginning.