“Buy American!” Surely, you’ve heard this on repeat the last few years, especially considering the fiasco of the USA Olympics uniforms being outsourced. After Ralph Lauren was chastised for the made-in-China label, I wondered in my blog if this would be the push Americans needed to support locally made products and apparel. It looks like some Americans took the hint, with specific areas leading the charge for American-made goods. Promo Marketing’s own base city, Philadelphia, is one such area.
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported on an initiative by local businesses to source products made in Philadelphia with emblems that read “Made in the City of Philadelphia” or “PHL Made.” Michael Cooper, a Philadelphia-based tailor and one of the 15 people behind the initiative said that the movement is about “branding the city as a city of doers.”
The inspiration for the movement was San Francisco’s SFMade, a nonprofit that has been supporting local brands in San Francisco for three years. Janet Lees, senior director for SFMade, said something every promotional sales consultant can understand: “Our logo is the biggest reason why companies want to join SFMade, so they can leverage the locally made brand.” The logo lets consumers know which companies are sourcing locally made goods–and which ones aren’t. As more consumers recognize the logo, more companies showcasing it benefit, which encourages more companies to source American-made goods. It is a cycle that will hopefully build in years to come as more consumers support the trend, and more cities get involved.
It will be interesting to see how these movements impact local sourcing of promotional products and apparel. Does your city have a similar campaign? Do you think they will work? Leave a comment or shoot me an email with your thoughts.
