Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Made In Ame Needs Our Su Try this on someone you know. Ask what industry puts more people to work than any other manufacturer in the United States? If the answer isn't textiles and apparel, don't be discouraged. That's why "Crafted Witn Pride in USA" was started last year ? to bring into focus what the textile industry has been saying for a long time. For instance, American-made textiles offer the best total value in the world. Our textile industry is the most productive in the world and we are right up front with quality and fashion. Surveys have shown that, given the choice. American consumers would rather buy American textiles. A recent survey for the U.S. Department of Commerce, for example, found that most American consumers not only prefer U.S. made products, they also want to buy our products to help keep people in textiles employed. That is promising news, but there's a catch. The expression of support for American-made products usually comes AFTER the consumer has been asked a question or he sees a familiar tag in a retail store. THEN ne rememuerb. There's a lot more we could be doing. Consider the following: Talk about "Crafted With Pride" to your family and friends and colleagues and merchants. Remind them that while foreign products must have country of origin labeling, American-made merchandise is not required to carry any label at all. Remind people that if everyone in the United States spent just $20 on Americanmade clothing instead of on imports, 100,000 new jobs would be created. Ask retailers where they will sell their products ? any products ? if the imports they are selling now put their best customers out of work. The evidence is clear that once Americans know how much is on the line for textiles, they are ready to buy textile products made in the U.S.A. Ihi It's easy to see why textile and apparel employees are concerned about imports, but what about everyone else? Why should your friends, neighbors and others in your community care whether they buy imports or not? Well, there is a very good reason why all of n<; should hp rnnrprnprl lt'<; hpran?;p nur American economy is inter related. What helps or hurts one section of the economy is eventually felt by the remainder. For instance, if one industry is successful and productive, it continues to hire employees, to buy raw materials and equipment, to pay taxes in the community and generally contri butes to the overall health of the American economy. In the same way, if a business fails and a plant is shut down or employees laid oft, the entire community feels the repercussions People out of work have less money to spend and other businesses quickly feel the loss of customers. Economists call this the "ripple rica Campaign ipport ran s ssdi The "K VO with n ??!" cy: O * LC O ^ ^ T< 'A/ u.S>' ,e CM in i Rlppl 2500 Z 2000 D O CL o 1500 C/> z ? 1000 500 1976 77 78 79 U. S. Textile and App This graph illustrates that textile and appar< growing, while our exports to other countrie the worst it has been in 17 years iP HeIpB< nericanTe iaae in uw Textile latseiing | nillions of labels in productii sip... >ok for "Made In USA" labels wl ill friends and store operators xtile products are investments jr communities. isist on American-made merchi le cTTC Exports 80 81 '82 '83 arel Trade Deficit ?l imports into the United States are (S are falling The gap, or deficit, is now ttSP ^ / x>st Miles! / urogram is underway on. Here is how you hen you shop, that American-made in gooa vaiue ana in andise. *ct effect." If you've ever dropped a small stone in a quiet pond you've seen how the ripples grow in ever widening circles from the spot where that stone was dropped. Our economy is not different. What may seem small and unimportant can quickly spread and affect many others. For example, if just 1,000 textile and apparel |obs are lost, the ripple effect causes the loss of an additional 1.000 jobs in the following types of businesses: apparel shops, restaurants, food stores, gas stations, auto dealerships, hardware stores, drug stores, sports stores and jewelry stores. In addition, these jobs support doctors, dentists and other professionals in the community. Q, it .uKon 1 nnn tnvt.lo ,nKr uui, i ici i i , www iuauic a11u appai ei juud are created, an additional 3,000 |obs are created in an average community. That's why supporting American textiles and apparel is everyone's business.