Are there No U.S. made toys left???

[jojo54]

Went shopping for my 2 yr. old grandson's birthday present last week. I went to Target, Walgreens, even Boscov's & Macy's. I could find NO toys that weren't made in China. NONE. ZIP. ZILCH. I wound up buying him some books because I knew the publisher actually manufactured and printed the books here; right here in the good ole' U.S. of A.

But man, was I pissed!! Guess I'll have to pull out my Phaff and sew some quilts for Christmas. But I'll have to check to make sure the fabric that I buy was made here too!

[Fierce]

1. Check online.

More people need to read labels. Once you start reading the labels, you buy a lot less stuff.

[slackmaster]

2. Try F.A.O. Schwartz

Or make your own.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. Very little is still made in the USA

And most of that is merely assembled here out of materials manufactured in third world countries. I will bet a day's pay that those books were printed in the United States using paper and ink that was imported.

[jojo54]

10. You had to go and burst my bubble didn't you?

LOL. Ya know, I hadn't thought of it that way. What a sad, sad situation we have on our hands.

[pampango]

17. The US is the second largest exporter in the world, after Germany,

so we must make something - just not toys.

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/2006pr/aip/related_party/

Our top four exports are transportation equipment, chemicals, computer/electronic products and machinery (not electrical). They represent over 50% of our exports. (Toys are not among the top 10, unless some of the computer/electronics are toys.)

If Germany (with a population of 80 million and a high-wage, high-social service economy) can be the largest exporter in the world, the US with almost 4 times the population should be able to do even better.

[Romulox]

20. This doesn't get any truer the more it's repeated...nt

[eShirl]

4. here's a place in my state

http://www.mainetoys.com/

[wicket]

5. This site is cool:

http://www.usmadetoys.com/

[SidDithers]

6. Sure there are...

Get your grandson started early.

Sid

[jojo54]

11. ROTFLMFAO!!!

So true. So true.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. OUCH!

That hurt.

[madokie]

7. I read that cotton was the number one crop in Texas and that all of it was shipped overseas

it is highly subsidized too to the tune of millions of bucks a year IIRC.

[TechBear_Seattle]

16. To third world countries, where...

It gets spun into thread for pennies, woven into cloth for a few pennies more, made into clothes at 40 cents an hour, then sold back in the United States as everything from $15 socks to $500 dresses.

Sad, very sad.

[madokie]

23. thats exactly what's happening

we really need to get back to our original intent as a country and start teaching the Constitution in our schools IMO

[lonestarnot]

8. Yes there are, pots and a spoon.

[Samurai_Writer]

9. There are none in the major stores

But you can find some here:

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/shoppingindex.html

[madokie]

24. Thank you

theres an ole saying around here something about dancing at ones wedding when someone does something extra special. well to me this is one of those times. 'cepting of course I can't dance but I can make a fool of myself pretty good though

[jojo54]

12. I'M SAVED!!!

Thanks for the websites, everybody.

[seabeyond]

13. no there is not. and they are all cheaply done and break easily

my kids are older so we have come to realize ANY toy we buy does not have a long life expectancy so we understand and dont have tantrums when the inevitable happens and a toy breaks. they understand and have learned over the years the quality is shoddy. they may be cheaper, but we would prefer to spend a little more for quality. just something about our world today.

[Le Taz Hot]

15. You might try craft fairs as well.

Though, as my friend and I found out this summer not all craft fairs are equal. There are vendors that haven't made anything. They resell crap made outside the U.S. But of the ones I went to this summer, the resellers were in the minority. I saw some really cute hand-made stuff for kids.

[WinkyDink]

18. Why qualify it with "toys"?

[jojo54]

26. It's just my current temper tantrum.

I have posted many times on DU about how contemptuous I feel about all products & services that have been outsourced to other countries, but right now it's specifically about toys because I've got 2 more grandkid's birthdays before Christmas.

[Fierce]

19. People, spend a day and read your labels.

Every piece of clothing you put on, every dish you put on your table, every food item you open or use, every book you read, every toy you play with or electronic item or appliance you turn on -- read the label and see where it comes from.

Threads like these always catch my eye because I check the country of origin of almost everything I buy. I'm done being surprised at how much is not made here anymore and am busy trying to find things that are made in countries with labor laws that aren't total jokes. Checking online can help.

[jojo54]

27. I drive hub crazy in the stores.

He talks a good talk, but I'm on his ass all the time because he's not willing to walk the walk.

[Romulox]

21. "Uncle Goose" make excellent building toys here in the USA

http://www.unclegoose.com/

[Tyo]

22. Just Google, "american made toys"

You'll come up with all sorts of sources. If you don't mind expanding into Canada you'll come up with even more. I'd point out though that "Made in USA" doesn't GUARANTEE quality any more than "Made in China" guarantees crap. It's still caveat emptor. Watch out for those cute wooden trucks and trains with all sorts of bits and pieces that are easily broken off.

[NewJeffCT]

31. be careful of "Made in the USA" too

Sometimes, it is only packaged in the US, or goes through final assembly here, while a majority is made elsewhere... but, it still gets the Made in the USA label.

Also, I remember seeing "Made in the USA" labels on clothing before, only to see in really small letters "Northern Marianas Islands" below it which is where Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff had their slave labor shops.

[Colorado Progressive]

25. Books aren't neccesarily safe either.

I bought my daughter an ABC book, not even thinking about where it was made. I get home and I'm reading it to her and noticed the Q was consistently backwards! Sure enough, made in China. At that point I became paranoid about lead paint. Its trash now.

[Bitwit1234]

28. There's nothing hardly left that is being made in this country

[shaniqua6392]

29. I always search for made in usa for all products.

There are many places that have compiled listings. My favorite is www.stillmadeinusa.com

[NewJeffCT]

30. Saw an article that had it at about 10% of all toys are made here - but -

a lot of them were specialty or high-end toys.

It basically said 80% of toys were made in China, 10% in other countries and 10% in the US.

[mainegreen]

32. Yes, there are.

But you must go to independent stores to get them. Hell, there is still US made baby clothes, but again, not at the major retailers.

We still manage to buy a surprising amount of US made goods. And it's not really more expensive.