Made In Canada - That's How We Make Manufacturing Sexy!

"Canada has all the nationalities, all the languages, all the cultural understanding you need to have. We should be the best in the world, and we are not."

~ Deszo Horvath, Dean, Schulich School of Business, York University

A friend of mine forwarded me an email today and I decided to post it on my blog and add my own experience!

While our American neighbours have created the brand “Made in America,” Canada doesn’t do a very good job promoting home made products. What I find most disturbing is that most of us don’t even know what “Made in Canada” means. Is it manufactured here or only assembled here? I am a huge Apple fan, but since reading about suicide nets and the terrible circumstances of factory workers in China, I have shied away from buying an iPhone. What stops Apple and many other companies from manufacturing here? Lower profits, of course! Many people are vegetarians because of the way humans treat animals.

I wonder how many people would give up their fun gadgets knowing about the inhumane way we treat other human beings, just because they are out of sight in another country. Probably not too many. The main thing is that we do well here, right? 

In the German language we have a word for that: “Scheinmoral,” which means hypocritical moral.

Made in Canada - Some care. Some don't. Do you?

Start looking........

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job.

For example, isn't Hockey Canada's Number 1 National Sport? Did you know that hockey sticks have been outsourced and are now made in China? Shame on us to allow this to happen!

A quote from a consumer: “My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now, instead of Smiths Falls, Ontario. I do not buy it anymore.” 

This past weekend I was at Wal-Mart. I needed 60W light bulbs. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the

price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in Mexico and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - Canada, at a company in Ontario. Their Equate Products are also made in Canada, and are very good.

Shopping in Lowe's the other day for some reason and just for the fun of it I was looking at the garden hose attachments. They were all made in China. The next day I was in Home Hardware and just for the fun of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in Canada! 

My favourite toothpaste, Colgate, is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

Another emailer wrote:

“Just to add my own experience on buying Made in Canada, I was looking for canned mushrooms that were made in Canada and could never find any, so I would buy fresh. Recently I found Ravine mushrooms - made in Canada with a little red maple leaf on the can. 

A little more money but when I opened the can, I looked at mushrooms that look like real mushrooms, not mushrooms that look like bleached. Another product I no longer buy is Del Monte or Dole canned Fruits. Del Monte is packaged in Taiwan and Dole is now a product of China. Why should we pay for their fruit when our farmers are left with fruits rotting on the trees. E.D. Smith is still made in Canada.....buy theirs, at least you will know what is in it and have some quality control. So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here. My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday items and see what you can find that is "Made In Canada". The job you save may be your own or the job of your children and grandchildren.”

If you accept this challenge, pass it on to others in your address book so we can all start buying Canadian, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!  

Canadians should have awakened two decades ago and to me it seems many are still sleeping!

 Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Canadians
  keep their jobs and create more jobs here in Canada.

  

BUY CANADIAN!  Read the labels.

Support Canadian jobs.

AWARENESS is the first step to create positive change!