Made in America

In the last year or so based on different well publicized events there has been a resurgence of the 'Buy American' mantra, whether it be kids toys, food, cars, so on.

The two main issues I see as worthy of discussion around this point are 1) quality control and 2) efficiency with a subcategory of environmental friendliness.

The times when 'Buy American' appears in the media it is usually implied that all American made products in that category are categorically better than the products being replaced. That American made toys won't contain lead, that American made food is more pure, or that American made cars are the foundation of our economy.

The questions that those proponents should be asking instead are:
- This toy was bought from an American owned store: how does that store choose their suppliers, and how much transparency does the store have to the suppliers' quality control process?
- Similar story for the candy. How did the end retailer choose which candy brand to purchase and do they have any accountability from a quality standpoint for that brand's supply chain?
- What makes a car American in the present day anyway? If a brand with headquarters in Detroit builds a car in Mexico, how American is that car compared to a car built by a brand headquartered in Guanma, Japan yet built in Indiana? And if a foreign automobile producer does so more efficiently with similar labor conditions and quality controls, is it not the best choice for the end driver to buy that car without regard to its country of origin? The missed sale opportunity for the runner up company should prompt them to study the more efficient process and modify their own accordingly.

The American way in this regard seems to be to have government boards establish minimum standards which are plausibly based more on safety than industry lobbyist pressure. (the definition of what can be sold as 'Chocolate' vs. 'Chocolatey' or crash test standards on cars, for instance)

Stores here can then import whatever meets that minimum standard and attempt to sell it. Sounds easy enough.

It would take more than random musings on a blog to figure, statistically, what percentage of products which fall afoul of the minimum standards are Made in the USA vs. Made Elsewhere, though I can think of many well publicized quality control failures of American products as well as foreign ones.

So, for retailed goods, is 'Buy American' anything more than blind patriotism? Maybe, sometimes.

Example 1) Textile goods.
- The US is statistically both a major grower and consumer of cotton. So why are so many cotton-goods made overseas presently? Cheaper labor. It surprises me that this cost savings will offset the costs of shipping the material and finished goods around the world, but apparently it does. Are overseas labor/relative standard of living pay conditions substandard compared to those in the US? Probably lower overall, but not in every case.

Given two functionally identical jackets/shirts/bags/etc of the same price, one made in the US, one made elsewhere, is it any more economically efficient to purchase one over the other? I'd propose yes since a smaller percentage of the cost of the product goes to transportation costs, meaning more money goes to the people involved rather than the process involved. It may take a small bit more research on the purchaser end to find the brands which are made in the US, but from my experiences it's possible to get competitive quality at an equal or lower price from US manufacturers in many goods. (Suit, Pea coat, camera bag, duffel bag)

Example 2) Food.

This is easy - the shorter supply chain the better. That said I do like bananas, and the term banana republic exists for a historically valid reason.

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Over the years I've held my own prejudices with regard to country of origin (German cars for instance) but understand that's mostly a stylistic choice rather than a statistically backed choice. If everyone bought cars based on total cost of ownership they'd end up with a Hyundai or lightly used Toyota.

Interesting Discoveries

St. Germain elderflower eau de vie

http://www.stgermain.fr/index2.php

1-2oz of the liqueur + 5-6oz of sparkling mineral water or club soda = refreshing and tasty beverage.

It's light in both alcohol and sweetness and tastes like a particularly herby or spicy honey sweetened soda.

Other elderflower drink sources: Ikea sells a non alcoholic elderflower/simple syrup concentrate as well as a pre-diluted tetrapak'ed drink. It is also by accounts the defining characteristic of British sparkling wines, which I have yet to find or try.

Also,

Absinthe - it's showing up in liquor stores locally. Picked up a bottle of Pernod (their Absinthe, not Pastis) and after a few tastings, it is far more like alcoholic licorice candy than the complicated herby beverage I've had from other brands that are not imported to the US. Still interesting - the green to white louche effect is present and never gets old, but I'll have to try some of the other brands for the correct taste.

Carrying stuff.

Travel in the modern era is a great exercise in efficiency and minimalism. Especially flying. My recent experiences at airports indicate there are two prevailing modes of thought here:

- The business traveller who carries a roll-on suitcase that is precisely 1" too big in every dimension to fit in the overhead bin, and a laptop, and a (man)purse, and a jacket.

- The family vacation which checks 2 bags per person, then when they get on the plane realizes they checked the thing that keeps the baby from screaming for the next 5 hours.

I endeavor to break this cycle. Just out of college I swapped out a falling-apart backpack for a nice Victorinox roll-on suitcase. It fit everything, it was bright red. Generally a good piece of equipment. Except that 1) it was awkward to carry and 2) I walk a lot and don't want to click a rolling suitcase down the sidewalk of a major city, for many blocks... it draws attention.

So the Victorinox was sold on ebay.

Enter the 1 compartment, 1 zipper, 1 carrying handle, duffel bag. Many companies make ones which are sized approximately to the airline carry on specifications. The goal was to find one that is fairly priced, made with exacting attention to detail from suitably durable material, and not 'precious'.

(defined loosely as something I could set on the floor of a bus/throw onto a boat/etc and not care if it gets dirty/wet - closely tied to the 'fairly priced' argument)

Filson, Barbour, Tumi, Victorinox, North Face were all eliminated due to high price and/or complexity of design. Many others were eliminated for feeling too cheap or unfinished.

Two contenders emerged - the RedOxx Small Aviator bag: http://www.redoxx.com/product_categories/8/products/22-small-aviator-bag

And the Mills Canvas Shelter Island: http://shop.millscanvas.com/theduffelbags.html

Being indecisive and with a vacation pending, I ordered one of each.

Both are made in the USA and guaranteed as long as the company stays in business. Mills has been around over 120 years - safe bet there. RedOxx - only 20 thus far.

Both use the same nearly-comically-large YKK zipper - good sign. RedOxx has two opposing pulls though - nice touch. And the monkey's fist knot zipper pulls are well done.

Both are finished very nicely - no exposed fabric edges to fray, all seams are finished very nicely.

The main difference is in the material. RedOxx uses heavier Cordura nylon, Mills a surprisingly soft canvas cotton cloth.

Initial signs are good in each case. The cost differential is striking for how similar they are though.

The RedOxx bag is the same price as, if not cheaper than, any similar size bag you'd find at a big box store. Having examined many of those, the RedOxx is far superior in design and construction.

The Mills bag is nice and I like the navy cotton cloth - it's nearly stylish. But it is pricey in comparison to the RedOxx for what appears to be similar build quality, space and function.

I'll use both extensively in the next year and see if anything breaks.

Things I find interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zFFdcEcMag