Buying American-Made

Independence Day is coming up in just over a month, so what better time to talk about buying American-made products! Recently I came across this fantastic article about altering your shopping habits to include more items made in our own country: Trying to Buy American? 3 Rules to Follow Every Time You Go Shopping.

If you’ve been out to the mall or large grocery store lately, maybe you’ve noticed how few products are labeled as “Made in the USA”. In our modern, globalized economy, many of the items we use on a daily basis, as well as much of our food, is made or grown elsewhere and imported. Often this is because it can be slightly cheaper to make items in countries where wages are lower or more manufacturing facilities are still in operation. Many manufacturing jobs have disappeared from the United States over the past century. Keeping jobs in America, and fellow Americans working, is essential for reducing unemployment and keeping the economy strong in more rural areas and small towns.

The Keeper Inc. is proud to produce our menstrual cups right here in America. We’ve always been an American company and want to support other American brands who see the importance of keeping manufacturing and other production jobs here, as opposed to outsourcing overseas. By buying products made in the USA, you’re not only supporting our economy, you’re also helping the environment. If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you know how strongly we support that goal!

Two ideas that you’ll often find paired in discussions of sustainability are lowering carbon footprints and buying local. These goals are intertwined: purchasing products made locally means they have less distance to travel in order to get to you, which means fewer fossil fuels being burned for shipping, which in turn reduces the carbon footprint of the item. So, by buying American-made products, you’re supporting local industry as well as helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Another thing which helps keep American-made products more sustainable is the reduced amount of packaging necessary for transport. When shipping products overseas from various factories, all sorts of protective packaging is used, most of which is unsustainable. Endless plastic bags, “clamshell” containers, styrofoam inserts, packing “peanuts”, and boxes not made from recycled materials; the list goes on. For locally produced products, it is often possible to ship and sell them in much more sustainable packaging. For instance, The Keeper and Moon Cup come in very minimal packaging, which is also reusable and functional! Each cup has its own drawstring purse, made out of eco-friendly cloth fabric and sewn by retired American seamstresses. These bags act both as protective packaging, and tasteful storage options for when the cup is not being used. They come to you in a plain manila envelope, with no excess packing. Nothing to throw out, especially if you reuse the envelope! Economic prosperity and environmentally conscious policy don’t have to be opposed to each other —in fact, they’re often related.

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Jennie LyonJennie Lyon is a green lifestyle writer and the owner of Sweet Greens, the award-winning green lifestyle blog. She posts on simple, fun ways families can go green together – starting with her own. When she isn’t blogging, you will find her paddleboarding, sailing, beach-combing, camping, or spending time with her amazing husband and 15-year old son.

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