Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page 4 American Made Consumer's Best Buy Geneva No. 1 card technician Ellis Stacy takes time to review his 1985 benefits statement which was distributed in February reflecting a summary of benefits as of December 31, 1984. The statement summarizes the major benefits and their costs which Clinton Mills provides for employees and their families. Included in the statement is a listing of the cost to the company and employees to provide medical care benefits, vacations, holidays, worker’s com pensation, unemployment compensation, etc. The statement is designated to show various disability, retirement and survivor benefits to eligible employees as well as a summary of personal data. Employees find the summary an excellent tool for planning their financial future. Clinton Mills, Inc. encourages its employees to check their hospital bills for possible billing errors. Mary Frances Hancock recently received an incentive reward for enabling the Company to recover expenses paid for services not received. Geneva Personnel Director Bob Dettmar is shown presenting Mrs. Hancock with an incentive reward re-imbursement check. USA Means Best Quality The American consumer is being short changed. The quality, price and fashion values of American-made textiles and apparel are being swept aside as foreign im ports flood American markets and destroy thousands of textile jobs. America’s domestic manufacturing capacity is threatened. Hundreds of thousands of job opportunities are being lost annually and competition suffers in the mar ketplace. The American textile and apparel industry faces the greatest threat in its 200-year his tory. What’s Being Done About This? American industry associations, includ ing man-made and natural fiber producers, a broad array of textile and apparel manufac turing groups have created a nationwide effort to increase public awareness of the high quality, dollar bargains and fashion values available in American textile and apparel products. Right at the center of this program is the employee and consumer, who are concerned more than ever with quality and value. Amer ican textiles and apparel offer both and much more. Virtually all the modern im provements and inventions in fibers, textiles and clothing were born in the United States—wash and wear, permanent press, soil release, flame retardants, stretch fab rics, fabrics to guard against heat and cold and even bullet-proof fabrics. Fiber suppliers have devoted millions of dollars to research, and the textile industry has added even more to make it the most productive, efficient and innovative any where in the world. And for the consumer, apparel remains the biggest bargain of all. From 1967 through 1983 annual apparel consumer price increases averaged only 5.1 percent, while the annual increase for all consumer prices averaged 12.9 percent. How Big Is the Import Problem? Imagine stretching a bolt of fabric to the moon. That’s 238,857 miles away. Now im agine that same bolt of fabric falling back to the earth and extending three-quarters of the way back up to the moon. That's how much textiles and apparel—10.3 billion square yards—will be imported into the Un ited States this year. Enough to wrap, 16 belts around the earth’s equator with enough left over for another belt that wouldn’t quite Made in What three words mean the best quality buy for American shoppers? The answer is “U.S.A.,” as in “Made in U.S.A.” Nothing else comes close. That is accord ing to the respected Roper Organization, which found that country of origin has a strong bearing on what Americans think of the products they buy. The Roper survey found that to 98 percent of consumers the words “Made in U.S.A.” mean top quality. fit. Twenty-five years ago you could walk into the average clothing department and find fewer than four imported garments for every 100 made in America. But today: •37 out of 100 children’s playsuits are imported; •58 out of 100 girls’ and women's swea ters are imported; and •68 out of 100 men’s cotton sportscoats are imported. The list goes on and on. It all adds up to a projected $19 billion in textile and apparel imports for 1984, compared to a little over $4 billion a decade ago. From 1973 to 1983 employment in the industry dropped 23 per cent, putting more than a half-million men and women out of work. At least that many more jobs may be lost in the next ten years. When the competitive abilities of Amer ican manufacturers are threatened, foreign producers may gain substantial control of American markets. And then prices rise. It's already happened to steel, autos, electro nics and machine tools. America’s plants close down. American workers lose jobs. Retailers lose customers. Unemployment payments and welfare ex penses go up. Fewer products are on the market. Everybody suffers. What Can You Co? We Americans have the ingenuity and de dication to outthink and outproduce anyone in the world. We can help support America’s oldest manufacturing industry in the follow ing ways: •The next purchase you make—and every one thereafter—stop, think and ask: “Was it made in America?” •Look for the “Crafted With Pride in U.S.A.” or other “Made in America” label. •Tell merchants you prefer American- made products. •Ask merchants to stock, identify and promote American textile and apparel pro ducts. •Inform merchants that buying American- made garments and textile products creates jobs and fuels the economy. •Urge your elected representatives in Washington to actively support U.S. fair trade policies. •And remember: Buy textile and apparel products “Crafted With Pride in U.S.A.” It will keep American jobs in America and keep America healthy and strong. Dead last in the quality ranking was “Made in Taiwan.” Taiwan is a major expor ter of textile and apparel products to the United States. The Roper survey confirms authoritative government and private opinion polls which say, in effect, Americans believe American products are “Crafted with Pride.” Remember that consumers’ desire to buy American textile and apparel products is what gave birth to the Crafted With Pride in U.S.A. campaign more than one year ago. Consumers have also been saying that often they aren’t sure that the products they have been buying were made in America. To remove any doubt about the origin of textile and apparel products, manufacturers must now prominently display labels saying “Made in U.S.A.” on all textile and apparel products made in this country. That’s not all. Catalogs must distinguish whether textile and apparel products are im ported or domestic. The Crafted With Pride program ignites enthusiasm for American products. The new labeling law helps carry consumer enthu siasm into action. Just because a sweater or other knitted product has an American look, don’t be fooled into believing that it is “Made in U.S.A.” The fact is that most knitwear on merchants’ shelves are imports, but it is still possible to find American goods. Imports have doubled since 1980. Buying imports takes American jobs. In fact, for every million yards of imports, 100,000 new textile and apparel jobs could be created.