DiscountFilters.com recently became a member of American Made Matters. A website dedicated to promoting companies who make their products here in the USA instead of shipping them in from over seas. We encourage you to check out their site and find companies that you buy everyday products from that are made in the USA instead of China.
Why it’s Important
“Made in China”. For some it means cheap, as in inexpensive, and often poorly made. For some it means counterfeit; a reproduction of something definitely not made in China. For some it means low wages and industrial complexes pumping who-knows-what into the atmosphere. And still for others, it means dangerous as images of arsenic-tainted toys dance through your head.
What do all of these things have in common? They’re all unflattering at best, and downright harmful at worst. Nobody declares with pride that their products are “Made in China”, not even the Chinese. If it weren’t required by law, most companies would just assume conceal this fact altogether, but as it is this small detail is typically concealed in fine print in the most obscure place on the product.
China has reigned supreme for the past few decades when it came to low-cost production. In recent history they haven’t developed much on their own, but they have been masterful at reproducing things at lower costs than just about anywhere else on the planet. Without labor and environmental regulations the government could subsidize state-controlled industry to be globally competitive without the burden of profit motives. As a result, enormous amounts of U.S. (and many other countries) manufacturing moved to China.
Chinese manufacturing has not been without its horror stories. Nearly everyone in the U.S. has either read or heard about some discovery of something awful concealed in Chinese-made goods. Whether its rat meat sold as lamb, or toys laced with dangerous heavy metals, or even prisoner notes left in the pocket of a purse sold at Walmart, the line between generalization and reality is often blurry.
Chinese-made goods face an uncertain future. As China’s economy grew, so too came the pressures from the international community for them to clean up their act. They are now facing the same sort of regulatory upheaval that the United States faced decades ago that made China so attractive a destination in the first place. Manufacturing is certainly at risk to move out of China and into the hands of the next lowest-cost rung on the ladder, like Vietnam. Considering all the horrible mistakes and “accidents” that Chinese manufacturing has produced in the past, do you think they will face the prospects of losing their golden goose to the new low bidder? Don’t be surprised if the frequency of these problems increases as Chinese manufacturers look to cut corners and take shortcuts to delay the inevitability of the free market. If they were accidentally poisoning things in the past, imagine what they’ll do with incentive.
Discount Filters, and dozens of other companies across the US are taking steps to provide higher quality products that you can feel safe using in your home. We charge less because it doesn’t actually cost that much to make a filter. Name brand companies charge 3, 4, 5 times as much because they pay for expensive marketing, TV commercials, branding, etc. So when you think you’re getting an awesome product because you saw their TV commercial and it was funny, you’re actually just paying for products shipped in from China, Mexico, Taiwan, etc. But question the quality, authenticity and value you’re getting, or not getting. Or just stick with USA made products any way you can.
Made in America Fun Facts:
- How many jobs can the USA add each year if every person committed to purchasing $64 worth of USA made goods? (Answer: 200K jobs)
- Number of jobs created if contractors increased use of USA materials by 5%? (Answer: 200K jobs)
- Percentage of voters who have a favorable view of USA-made products? (Answer 95%) Q&A courtesy of Alliance for American Manufacturing.
I recently placed an order for several filters, Fridge, under sink, whole house and humidifier. Made in China is tagged on all filters????????
Hey Richard! Our AIRx furnace/HVAC and ClearChoice fridge filters are all made in our Greenwood, Indiana factory. We apologize for any confusion or frustration!