Americans want to support American companies, but finding products made in the country is challenging. To help consumers, a New York state assemblyman is encouraging Amazon to create a filter to help shoppers find products made by American companies.
Cheap Products Made Overseas
The online shopping giant offers products from around the world, with many coming from China. Amazon does not vet the products, which means many sellers offer counterfeit products made by unknown manufacturers. These low-quality products fall apart quickly and only serve to line the pockets of the companies that manufacture them.
Helping Amazon Shoppers with a New Filter
New York State Assemblyman Mark Walczyk has asked Amazon to add a new filter to its website. The filter would help shoppers find products made in the USA so that they could support local companies with ethical manufacturing practices.
Amazon already has several filters to help shoppers sift through the uncountable number of products on its site, but none identify where the products are made. The assemblyman wants Amazon to add the filter for the holiday shopping rush, as it would be a boon for local economies around the country.
Finding America-Made Products Boosts the Economy
Walczyk, a Republican representing Northern Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, said the filter would support American entrepreneurs and benefit the sellers and national economy. He said that adding the filter would be easy for Amazon, which is a high-tech online store that also provides cloud storage and other business-related internet features.
If Amazon added the “Made in USA” filter, American shoppers would be appreciative. The Alliance for American Manufacturing polled American consumers and found that more than three-quarters of them want to purchase American-made gifts for their friends and family. Those people reported not seeing many “Made in America” products while shopping.
Updating Labeling Laws Could Ease Shopping Challenges
Polling numbers also showed that American consumers would be highly likely to purchase American-made gifts if they could find them at large retailers like Amazon and Walmart. Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin wants to make it easier for consumers to find American-made products by updating labeling laws.
The senator claims that Americans should know who is manufacturing their favorite products. She wants brick-and-mortar and online retailers to be transparent about the products they sell by sharing where they are made. When consumers buy American-made products they help create more jobs and boost the economy.
Despite fears of inflation, retailers are working hard to get shoppers to purchase their goods. The Alliance for American Manufacturing, AllAmerican.org, and others are encouraging retailers to show off products made by American companies, but many are ignoring the call.
Image credit: Spectrum News 1
