Made in USA at Walmart?!

[LiveLife]

Went to Walmart tonight to check on the country of origin of Winchester 9mm 50/100 round "white box" packages for another thread and pick up some apples (BTW, they were all made in USA ).

While at the sporting goods section, I decided to look around and see how much of the shooting related items were made in USA. To be honest, I was expecting to see essentially all made in China, BUT I was not ready for what I found:

- At the top of the isle hung various Winchester brand cleaning kits. When I flipped the packages over, TA DA, I saw "Made in USA" with an American flag for shotgun, rifle and universal kits!

- Winchester cleaning cloth had "Made in USA" with an American flag prominently displayed in the front of the package.

- Winchester shotgun sight kit had "Made in the USA" with red/white star/blue logo on the front of the package.

- Winchester clay thrower - I thought to myself, "Come on, this is a mass produced plastic thingy" and viola! "Made in USA" in the back.

- Winchester "Super Sling" - yup, "MADE IN USA" for a nylon sling!

As expected, various BreakFree/Birchwood/Casey/Remington products showed "Made in USA" on the packages, but seeing so many "Made in USA" Winchester products was a surprise and made me smile.

I didn't check every item but in the next "hunting" isle, about 30% of the products I checked carried "Made in USA" on the packages.

At the check out, just out of curiosity, I checked BIC Classic lighter package and guess what? "Made in USA" Just for giggles, I checked "Little Trees" car air freshener - Made in USA.

Driving home, it made me wonder whether this was a trend, but sure made me happy to know there are more USA made products options, even at Walmart than I originally thought.

 

[Woody3]

Were they made in USA or the U.S.A? There is a difference. USA is a town in China. The U.S.A is United States of America.


Keep your head low and your powder dry.

 

[JERRY]

is this the same Winchester that stopped making their 30-30 in the USA and now does so in Asia?

 

[LiveLife]

Were they made in USA or the U.S.A? There is a difference. USA is a town in China. The U.S.A is United States of America.

I believe that issue has been addressed by the FTC - http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/usajump.shtm

Perhaps someone else can verify but only city named Usa is located in Japan, not China - But the products would still carry the "Made in Japan/China" on the packages, not the city of manufacture.

Am I missing something or is it still going on?

Why would Winchester put the American flag next to "Made in USA" if it wasn't made here?

 

[azyogi]

Got to wonder, who was working in that factory? Even though it was in the USA were they citizens? Not acusing just saying.

 

[LiveLife]

I think the ENFORCEMENT POLICY STATEMENT on U.S. ORIGIN CLAIMS by the FTC is fairly clear when/how "Made in USA" in conjunction with the American flag can be used.

The Federal Trade Commission is issuing this statement to provide guidance regarding its enforcement policy with respect to the use of "Made in USA" ... be substantiated by evidence that the product is all or virtually all made in the United States.

U.S. symbols ... such as U.S. flags .. convey a claim of U.S. origin.

For example, assume that a company advertises its product in an advertisement that features pictures of employees at work at what is identified as the company's U.S. factory, these pictures are superimposed on an image of a U.S. flag, and the advertisement bears the headline "American Quality." Although there is no express representation that the company's product is "Made in USA," the net impression of the advertisement is likely to convey to consumers a claim that the product is of U.S. origin.

... Similarly, the mere listing of a company's U.S. address on a package label, in a nonprominent manner, such as would be required under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, is unlikely, without more, to constitute a "Made in USA" claim.

Based on its review of the traditional use of the term "Made in USA," and the record as a whole, the Commission concludes that consumers are likely to understand an unqualified U.S. origin claim to mean that the advertised product is "all or virtually all" made in the United States. Therefore, when a marketer makes an unqualified claim that a product is "Made in USA," it should, at the time the representation is made, possess and rely upon a reasonable basis that the product is in fact all or virtually all made in the United States.

A product that is all or virtually all made in the United States will ordinarily be one in which all significant parts and processing that go into the product are of U.S. origin. In other words, where a product is labeled or otherwise advertised with an unqualified "Made in USA" claim, it should contain only a de minimis, or negligible, amount of foreign content.

 

[DM~]

Just to add to the confusion, my nephue works for a guy that buys truck loads and truck loads of "stuff" straight from china. My nephue spends hid days takeing the "stuff" out of the boxes they are in, and putting it in boxes that say "Made in the USA" on them.

He told me, "what am i going to do? I NEED the work!" (his shop closed quite a while back) He went on to say: "it's ironic that i'm doing THIS, and i lost my factory job because of the chinese!"

DM

 

[Justin]

This isn't on topic.