Gateway to the American Made Marketplace©

Our professional logo is in place & the code for our link banner was written, but we're excited most about the new search feature on our site which we've dubbed - Gateway to the American Made Marketplace©

Unlike your local retail store where the rare find is a US made item, we’d like to introduce you to the reverse situation.

Behind a simple search interface, we carefully assembled a vast collection of the prime Internet locations with 100% or virtually 100% Made in the USA products.*

The locations we search include the online malls, state malls, manufacturers’ sites and selected merchants whose inventory is exclusively Made in the USA. All of these different locations can now be simultaneously searched in one place.

Relieved of the clutter from imports, we view this search as the simplest, quickest & most efficient means to match a US made product with a shopper who seeks such a product.

Nearly all locations in our search have a shopping cart, so a shopper can promptly locate & purchase US made goods if they wish. Since the balance of the inventory is US made on the sites in our search, the discerning consumer can continue to browse or shop for other US made goods.

About Our Search:

All sites and their inventory were carefully researched & vetted prior to inclusion in our search.

*We held to this rule while developing this search. If a location had only 1 identified imported product while the balance of the inventory was Made in the USA, they were acceptable. If they had more than 1 imported item or if it was not identified as such, the location was excluded. This is how we achieved such a pure concentration of Made in the USA products and it explains the 8 isolated imports in our vast search - imports which are identified as such in the product descriptions.

While we have no control over the inventory offered by the sites in our search, we do have control over whether or not a location remains. If we become aware of an increase in the number of imported products offered on a site in our search, it will be eliminated from the search. Likewise, as we find additional suitable locations with 100% US made products, they will be included.

A few of the sites in our search note product origin only on their Home, About Us or FAQ pages so you may not see the origin in some product descriptions. We've checked but since inventory can change, you may wish to verify the origin yourself prior to any purchase.

In some cases, a site's technology was somehow incompatible with our search and so unfortunately, they were not included. In the future, we hope to correct that situation, if possible. Locations that were not included in our search are marked with a red asterisk in our departments. We suggest browsing our departments in addition to the search for additional locations for US made goods.

Search Tips

Results from a query are based primarily on relevance and they can range from No Results to numerous pages dependant upon the search query. (No location appears in our search due to any type of compensation.) They are present because the goods they offer are exclusively US made.

When using the Gateway to the American Made Marketplace©, it can be helpful to use both less specific and more specific search terms. By simply searching the two words shower and curtain, results will deliver both shower curtains and shower curtain rings. Rather than simply searching for stuffed animals, a specific animal can be searched such as a stuffed giraffe.

Sizes can be searched successfully such as Plus Size or Big & Tall. Brands and companies can also be searched.

Results can differ when using or not using quotation marks or from singular and plural versions of words. You might like to try your searches with and without quotations and in a singular and plural form. Terminology can achieve different results such as searching the word overalls or coveralls.

Presently, the search represents about 50% of the compatible sites from our departments. It is already possible to search and locate a surprising quantity and variety of goods, all Made in the USA. We'll continue to contribute and enlarge the search over the next few months. We're noting our progress for users in the left column of our search page.

Please take a few minutes and give our search a test drive. We'd be delighted to hear from you about our site or our search. Please send any comments or feedback to mary@findusmade.com

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

Discover American Manufacturing

Find US Made.com can be a learning experience for visitors. Not everyone is aware that we produce potato vodka, caviar & extra virgin olive oil in the US.

Our oldest rice mill is still in operation as well as Indiana’s oldest commercial water-powered flour mill. Since 1888, Charles H. Baldwin has produced possibly the absolute best vanilla extract. The Frye Co. is our oldest continuously operated shoe company and for the past 166 years, Johnson Woolen Mills has been producing wool apparel.

Consumers are wise. When they find a value, they return to it time and again which explains our 8th generation companies.

Recycling and technology has brought new businesses and new products to the American marketplace. The growing demand for organic products is being met by many of them. Environmental concerns are spawning eco-friendly products and I believe technology will one day fulfill consumers wildest dreams.

What is common to both long established companies & the new companies listed on our site, are their values and their dedication to domestic manufacturing. They chose to employ Americans. They chose to be subject to our laws, codes & regulations. They also chose to compete in the American marketplace, even against unfair subsidized foreign competition. American manufacturers have moxie, don't they?

Even the merchants that we list, carefully selected the lines they would offer to consumers, and they wisely chose to include American made goods.

Your local large retailer has no doubt selfishly chosen to limit your options by filling their stores with imported products. Unfortunately, you, the consumer is not well served by limited options. You can't be expected to find the value in the marketplace if US made products are absent.

Permit us then to introduce you to the choices you've been missing.

Consumers deserve their choice of US made large stainless steel utensils from Kwik Kut, 6 pieces for $11.25. Casual shorts from Duck Scrubs are $10.00. An organic cotton nightshirt from SOS From Texas is $12.50. A 17 piece recycled plastic tea set from Green Toys is $24.99. The consumer also has the choice of colored glass tree ornaments from Bronner's, 8 for $4.99.

Consumers should be aware of all available options, and we're working hard to spotlight the US made products so often absent from your local store.

The most recent generation of American manufacturers - you know, the ones with moxie, are anxious to meet you. They've worked hard in the American marketplace while playing by the rules and they deserve the opportunity to meet and hopefully impress you. I've visited each and every one of the thousands of locations listed on our site and goodness knows they've impressed me.

Now I'm wondering which of these new companies will be in their 8th generation years from now.

The wise consumer will explore their options and discover value in the marketplace. They'll be rewarded with products they'd purchase again from the manufacturers who earn their business.

What might you discover?

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

Trenway Textiles

We're delighted to share this information from a recent email. Trenway Textiles was contacted about the origin of their products. They replied explaining that for a time, some of their products were manufactured abroad. They found themselves dissatisfied however with the quality of the products and they've returned to manufacturing their entire line of socks in the USA.

We now have them listed in the Footwear/Headwear & Sports & Hobbies departments on our site.

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

Do You Have Tips For Us?

While we make our way through our remaining folders, we've been receiving tips from site visitors. Thank you all very much. We promptly visit and review site submissions and suitable links usually appear within 24 hours. (If the site is found eventually in one of our folders, it will be treated as a duplicate.)

Consumers built our site and consumers will continue to impact and change the site. Your tips are most welcomed and you can send them to me at mary@findusmade.com

Due to the volume of our links, we've already split Toys into 2 departments. We suspect the same will happen as we complete the Designer Apparel department. A Home Improvement/Renovation department is likely to appear in the future.

Presently though, we've presented thousands of fruitful locations with Made in the USA products, placing what must be millions of US made products at the fingertips of our visitors.

If you have some time, we have some remarkable products to show you...

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

Power in the Marketplace

As a small business person, I get up early every morning, work all day long, most evenings and some weekends, all with the hope of earning some of your hard earned dollars.

Corporate manufacturers and large retailers are no different as they also hope to earn your money. After the toy recalls I noticed a change in the complexion of the toys offered by JCPenney. I noticed US made toys offered now at full price while imported versions were on sale. That large retailer quickly & wisely responded to consumer demand.

Believe me, if the consumer decided that desirable products should be adorned with - let’s say purple stars, then corporate manufacturers and small businesses like ours would be busy affixing purple stars on our products. I would likely be up even earlier in the day affixing the purple stars myself and get my product to market before the large corporations. My products are here already, while the corporations would be awaiting ships to reach a dock. Our pricing would be comparable and competitive mainly because small businesses tend to run efficiently without layers of bloated management. Products without purple stars would be on sale at JCPenney while products with purple stars would be offered at full price.

All of this fuss would have happened because consumers developed a penchant for products adorned with purple stars.

Yes, you have this much power in the marketplace.

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

We've Outsourced Our National Security

I recently read a comment on a blog, the topic of which was the ramifications of domestic and foreign manufacturing. A woman offered a comment from her husband. He had told her that he doubted our country could defend itself in the event of a military attack, the reason being that we would most likely be awaiting parts from China. It may have been a flippant comment but it haunts me.

We're friendly with the owners of another small business. One of the lines they distribute was US made until recently. The line is now manufactured in China. The products are used by hospitals, police departments, government offices and our military. While there is no complaint presently with the quality of the products, there is on occasion a back-order of some items. Currently they face a 6 to 8 month wait on delivery of an item requested by a facility in the state of Texas.

Now, what if this was an emergency?

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

3 Decades of Purchasing US Made Products

Buying US made products isn't a new idea - it's one I embraced 30 years ago when I first made my home. I learned much along the way in life, including how wise it was to fill my home with Made in the USA products.

I'm presently an American manufacturer so in some ways, I've come full circle. I realize more than ever that domestic manufacturing is essential to our nation's economic security.

I took a page on our site to explain my journey over 30 years. You can read my full comments here: Comments

Should you visit our site, you'll likely be surprised at what you'll find in our departments. American manufacturers and workers have been busy, very busy...

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

Shopping One's Own Site

It was I, primarily who gathered everyone's folders to review and verify sites and links for Find US Made.com. The first round of links was only about 1,500. I visited each of those sites, reviewed & verified them and took an appropriate inventory for the descriptions.

There are several types of shopper and I'm basically a need based shopper. Grocers' would call me a "cherry picker" which I find complimentary. As a discerning shopper I don't shop casually or for recreation. On occasion I'll window shop but I'm basically on a straightforward mission. Impress me quickly or I'm out the door.

I was not in need of anything when I started to work on our site, nor did I expect to shop. I was surprised then to find myself reaching for my wallet several times as the departments took shape. I spent a few hundred dollars and I was thrilled with my purchases. In fact, I returned to the pages to re-order some items. That quickly, we were shopping via our own site generating domestic commerce. That experience demonstrated to me that American manufacturers, merchants and their goods were appealing enough to tempt someone who wasn't even shopping. We smiled and wondered how well then our site could help a shopper on a mission.

My wallet had a rest for successive rounds of links mostly due to the nature of the departments. I have additional folders to review though but at least I know now the likelihood of spotting merchandise that I would like to purchase. My wallet is nearby...

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com

Frantic Parents & a Microwave Ablaze

Prior to the 2007 holiday season, I so often came across frantic parents who were searching on the Internet for safe toys for their children. Meanwhile, a friend wrote to me explaining that her foreign made microwave caught fire in her kitchen. She has 3 children and keeps well informed about current events via the Internet. She was well aware of the many recent recalls of foreign products. The microwave catching fire in her kitchen, demonstrated to her a clear threat to her family's well being. She reacted by putting down her foot and declaring that her family would only purchase Made in the USA products whenever possible. This prompted a notable increase in the link sharing among friends.

In addition to my friends, I also wished I could help those frantic parents. I suggested to the group that we combine and place our sources online. The idea was well received and after some discussion, we began work on the site.

Our own small business has operated the past few decades by following our number one rule - do right by our customer. As I started work on our site, present in my mind was how we could do right by our site visitors. Truly, it was not until the third day of work that I slapped my forehead when it came to mind that we were American manufacturers and I could proudly list our own company on the site. We have a simple link and description on the page and we're honored to be in the good company of so many fine American manufacturers.

Mary - web person for Find US Made.com