In his 1758 preface to Poor Richard's Almanac, Benjamin Franklin wrote:
A little neglect may breed mischief ...
for want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
and for want of a horse the rider was lost.
Follow me below the jump to hear a tale of neglect that has lost us more than a shoe. More than a horse. And more than a few riders. For want of a lowly (American Made) toaster.
I live in a typical American home, with a typical American kitchen which I assume has most typical American appliances: an electric can-opener, coffee maker, toaster, blender, maybe a few others, nothing fancy. Appliances, small or large, are the sorts of things I tend not to think about unless one is giving me trouble.
Such was the case recently when our four-slice toaster began burning rather than toasting bread. We worked around it, monitoring the progress of the toasting and manually stopping it before the burning began, but it was annoying. Although times are tough, I've still got a job and there's still some money left from my income tax refund, so we decided to replace the toaster.
In light of the rough economy, I decided to do some research before making a purchase so that I could get the best quality American made toaster for the best price. A May 2007 article reports that 15.3 million toasters were sold in the United States in 2006. That's a lot of toasters! Brand names, most familiar but a few I'd never heard of, are extensive in the toaster market, with a few European brands on the high end to compete with some of the more expensive American brands. Most American brands, however, were similar in design, features, and price.
I quickly discovered, however, another similarity: all of the American brands seemed to be made in China. I looked at Target - all brands on the shelf were made in China. I went to Kohls - all brands on the shelf were made in China. I was going to stop at Macy's but it was raining so I went home instead and went on line to search. And I started calling and emailing customer service departments, to ask companies where their toasters were manufactured. Each one said "China."
Then I found one company with a website which included the following text:
REDACTED is one of only a handful of companies that manufacture and market both cookware and small appliances in the US.
I was elated! There was a company that still manufactured small appliances in the U.S.! I sent an email right away.
Can you tell me which models of REDACTED toasters are manufactured in the United States? I need to purchase a new 4-slice toaster and wish to purchase one manufactured domestically.
They replied:
REDACTED does not manufacture any products in the USA. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.
I emailed them back asking where, specificaly, their products were manufactured. I also suggested they correct their website. (To date they haven't.)
REDACTED products, including kitchen appliances and cookware, are manufactured in China.
Unless I overlooked a company in my research, there are no toasters manufactured in the United States at this time. More than 15 million toasters, imported, primarily from China, will be sold to typical American families to be used in typical American kitchens to toast typical American bread and bagels. Just imagine how many of your neighbors and mine could be working right now if there were a factory in your town building some of those toasters.
For want of a lowly American made toaster, factories in my city are closed up, machinery closed down and idle, workers gone and wondering how they'll survive. More than fifteen million toasters will be sold in this country this year, but none of those will be made here. We are perfectly capable of making them here, but we have been content to buy them from China.
I am no longer content to buy from somewhere else what be made right here. I'm preparing a letter to send to each toaster manufacturer to tell them I will buy the first 4-slice toaster that is made in the United States, but until then I will buy nothing made by their company. I'm a small consumer, my family and I contribute very little to the economy, but until the business owners start paying attention and hiring our people to make the products we use, I'll be contributing even less. The one toaster I'm not going to buy isn't going to hurt anyone (except me and my family while we continue to babysit our ailing toaster) but I feel good that I'm doing what my heart says is right.
For want of a lowly toaster, the trade deficit can grow without me.