Most Americans, when asked, prefer to buy “Made in America.” Most inventors, when asked, would rather manufacture in America. Unfortunately, this is not always an option. Why?

The American consumer dictates where something will be manufactured based on the price they are willing to pay. The reality is that frequently the cost of manufacturing in America makes it impossible to get the price point to a consumer-friendly level. It really depends on the product.

For example, years ago, the inventor of the Hangem Straight Flag Pole was passionate about having her product made in the US. Unfortunately, this was impossible. The cost just to have the poles made was several times higher than the market would accept. So she got pricing from China. Guess what! The price now was consumer-friendly and included packaging. And the kicker? They shipped the aluminum from the US to China to make it. This happens all the time.

Another inventor had miniature computer parts made for his product. The failure rate on the product shipped from China made the cost of manufacturing in the US reasonable. So all of his manufacturing was brought back to the states.

We want to see more manufacturing done in the US. As an inventor, you always compare options, and just because you can’t manufacture in the US now doesn’t mean you won’t be able to at some point in the future.

As consumers, we can look for the “Made In America” label. If we want others to support our goal of Made in America, we need to act accordingly.