ABC News revealed the results of an investigation this week on products being used for 2012 presidential campaigns. Reviewing T-shirts used by eight presidential candidates, as well as those purchased by President Obama’s re-election campaign, ABC News found that four of the campaigns used products made overseas.
Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain all used promotional T-shirts produced abroad. The other candidates investigated, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachman, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and President Obama, used T-shirts made in America.
When asked about his campaign’s use of foreign products, Santorum said “It’s tragic that so many products in this country are made outside of this country. You probably can find a T-shirt occasionally made here in the United States … but it’s harder and harder to do.”
Speaking with ABC’s TopLine, Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing rejected the notion that it is difficult to find American-made T-shirts and other promotional campaign products. “All you have to do is go to the Internet look up ‘American-made T-shirt’ and you can find them,” Paul said.
“These types of goods are widely available. … This is a really, really simple thing to correct,” he added.
While ABC reports that the number of jobs in textile mills in America has decreased by 2 million in the last 40 years, there are still numerous suppliers and manufacturers who produce their products in America. Industry supplier American Apparel is well-known for producing their garments in Los Angeles, and Anaheim, California-based Bayside makes all of their apparel in America, and sells through industry suppliers like S&S Activewear and Heritage Sportswear.
Hard good promotional products made it the USA are also available. Industry supplier HumphreyLine makes almost all of their products in America. Pioneer Balloon, Gateway Marketing Concepts and Lion Circle Corporation are just a few of the suppliers that carry campaign-friendly promotional products made in the United States.
Some commenters said it was hypocritical to campaign on creating American jobs while purchasing products produced in other countries, while others claim it is fair in a global, free-market economy. What do you think? Do politicians have a responsibility to purchase campaign products made in the USA? Let us know in the comment section below.
