Some of the readers who commented on my Made in America post feel so strongly about buying products that are made here that I think they would be willing to pay more for them.

This got me to thinking about just how much more people would be willing to pay for a product that is actually made in America. So I am asking you to consider voting in a hypothetical poll. Imagine you could purchase one of three baskets from Longaberger:

• A $90 11" Round Keeping Basket made by American citizens working in an American factory made 100% of American materials (this is a hypothetical product and price).
• A $59 11" Round Keeping Basket made by American citizens working in an American factory whose basket shell was made in America but whose lining was made in China (many commentators said this is how Longaberger currently makes its baskets and this is a real price for a real product); or
• A $20 11" Round Keeping Basket made by Chinese citizens working in a Chinese factory made 100% of Chinese materials (another hypothetical price).

I would be happy to send the results of this poll to Longaberger's CEO. Maybe if enough of you are willing to pay a premium for an All-American basket, the company will start making them.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

How much more would you pay for Made in America? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you're tired of poisoning your kids with lead-painted toys from China or killing your pets with melamine-laced Chinese pet food, you may be wondering what you can buy that's made in America.

To its credit, China is trying to fix its reputation. Last week, according to CBS News, China's product safety chief Li Changjiang offered assurances that toys made in China would be "safer, better and more appealing. Before Christmas, we will certainly provide children safer, better and more appealing toys. They will certainly like them." To bolster that claim, on September 11th, China signed an agreement to prohibit the use of lead paint on toys exported to the United States.

As I posted in July, I expect that there could be a business opportunity to sell products to U.S. consumers that are made anywhere but China. Then I cited examples of an upscale New York grocery with no Chinese seafood and a New Jersey-based natural producer of premium dog food blended from meat and vegetables. However, I have not seen much in the way of new developments in the last few months.

So what are the choices for those who want to buy products made in the USA?

Continue reading Made in the U.S.A.: What products are still American-made?

Made in the U.S.A.: What products are still American-made? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.