Are These Iconic Brands Actually Made In China?

He announced the sale in a blog post on their site and credited the shift from print to digital content as the motivation for selling to international investors.  “While today marks a fundamental turning point in this 97-year-old company founded by my grandfather, it should be seen as an opportunity to continue and strengthen our mission,” he said.

According to All American Reviews, the words “made or assembled” are the key phrases to pay attention to. New Balance materials are mostly found overseas, including their outer soles, which are made in China. The company admitted on the website that the domestic value is at only 70%. “We label our shoes Made in the USA,” they wrote.

According to the Chattanooga Free Press, China makes most of TTI/Royal’s products, including the Hoover and Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners. However, there are Hoover plants in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. It’s safe to say that American partially produces Dirt Devil products.

Many of Nike’s shoes are made in oversea factories located in China and Vietnam. CNBC reported that “Nike made 47% of its shoes in Vietnam in fiscal 2018, according to its annual report. It made 26% in China and 21% in Indonesia.” So, there you have it. Nike products are not 100% American-made.

Over time, opened factories outside of Italy, including locations in China. So, don’t be fooled into thinking you’re purchasing an American-made product when you buy Ray-Bans. Buying vintage Bausch & Lomb frames would be the best way to ensure it’s a product of the USA.

Although labor can be cheaper in China, Apple makes these items in a factory in Taiwan for an unexpected reason. The manufacturing of iPads and iPhones requires rare earth elements, and China controls 97% of the earth’s rare elements. So, the company outsources production, and the USA does not make our iPhones or iPads.

The Chinese smartphone producer, Lenovo, purchased the company. While Motorola’s headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois, most of their manufacturing takes place at Chinese factories. Although, some of their production takes place in facilities in India. Either way, they are not American made. 

They sold the company in 2013 to Ninebot, a Shanghai-based tech company that produces short-distance motorized transport devices. According to USA Today, Segway President Rod Keller said in a statement, “Strategic alliance with Ninebot will enable us to provide more intelligent and valuable products for our customers.”

The company sold its business to its Chinese rival, Didi Chuxing, in 2016. According to CNBC, Uber couldn’t compete with Didi after losing $1 billion a year to its Chinese counterpart. The founder of Didi Chuxing, Cheng Wei, said the two companies had “learned a great deal from each other over the past two years in China’s burgeoning new economy”.

According to All American Reviews, Apex Tool Group produces many of Craftsman’s hand tools and assemble the products in China. However, they make some of their products in the USA and are opening up new plants on American soil. You can locate a tool’s origin by contacting the company directly.

According to Global News Wire, Ad Watchdog TINA.org Executive Director Bonnie Patten said, “Because patriotism sells, if Gillette is permitted to proceed with its false and deceptive Made in the USA marketing campaign, not only will consumers who prefer American-made products continue to be misled, honest companies that follow the law will also lose out.”

Some of their raw materials come from other locations. For example, the company gets its leather from Italy, but all of its products are made in a factory in China and shipped to the U.S. It’s no secret as they proudly display the “Made in China” tag on all clothing labels.

A discussion on OakleyForum.com cleared up the confusion, saying, “All Oakleys are still designed and engineered in the USA at their Foothill Ranch Headquarters. Additionally, up to 70% of Oakley parts are still manufactured in the USA as well, however, some parts are produced in the Luxottica factories overseas.”

“Spotify believes the Tencent Transactions allow Spotify to invest in the long-term potential of the music market in China and, in turn, TME to invest in the long-term potential of the music market outside of China,” Spotify wrote in its filing. This means that Spotify is partially owned by the Chinese. 

Despite the All-American image of Hush Puppies, they do not manufacture the shoes in the USA. The company outsources and produces them at a factory in China. Yet, they maintain a classic American style regardless of where they’re made.

The Chicago Tribune spoke to Gary Hubbard, spokesman for the United Steelworkers of America in Washington, about the move. “Some companies you expect to see go by the wayside, but when you think they do not make Huffy bikes and you think ‘American-made,’ you always think of Huffy. But no more,” Hubbard said. 

NPR interviewed David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price, about the recall. “Well, clearly, we’ve let the consumer down, there is no doubt about that. And we honestly believe that our name and our reputation will prevail in this, that we’ll be able to restore that consumer confidence,” Allmark said.

While they have plants in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Pennsylvania, they make many of their electronic components in China. Harley Davidson also built a new factory in Thailand. “We are expanding our presence in the Asia-Pacific market by building an assembly facility in the Rayong Province in Thailand,” Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Katie Whitmore told AFP.

Their toys also pose potential health risks. There was a 2008 and 2009 recall on 26,000 of their toys because they discovered excessive levels of barium in the surface paint. In response, the company provides a toy registry on its website to inform parents about future safety recalls. 

You might assume the United States produces them, but America has never manufactured Barbies. They were first produced in Japan in 1959. The toys are owned by Mattel, who outsources the production to four Asian factories, including two in China and one in Malaysia and Indonesia. 

The original factory wasn’t able to produce plastic, so they outsourced the iconic red wagon to China in 2004. According to Forbes magazine, two-thirds of Radio Flyer’s products are made in China and the rest are made in a factory in Wisconsin. 

“As you drive around neighborhoods in America, you look in back yards… and every once in a while you see a Cozy Coupe and, you know, it just feels really good to know that you’re involved in packaging an American product with an American company shipping in the heartland of Ohio,” Mead said.

The company manufactures everything from casserole dishes to pie plates in a factory in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. You can feel confident that your Pyrex kitchenware is a product of the US. Many of their earlier dishes are collector’s items. They now produce around 50 million pieces a year and they sell their products at most big box stores.

There was a rumor that prisoners make Zippos, which was confirmed on Zippo’s Facebook page. The company wrote on social media, “Zippo lighters are made by inmates. Letters on the left are the offense code, numbers on the right represent the number of years of sentence.”

The company celebrated 100 years in 2003 and families can still marvel at crayons being made at Easton’s Crayola Experience attraction. You can’t get much more American than Crayola Crayons, so it’s nice to know that they’re produced in America. 

They’ve manufactured the product in Cynthiana, Kentucky since 1985. They also produce Scotch tape at the factory. According to its website, the company honored Art Fry with the top technical title “corporate researcher”. “My biggest reward,” Fry said, “is to see so many people use and appreciate my product.”

According to All American Reviews, KitchenAid manufactures its famous mixer in a factory in Greenville, Ohio. They also have plants in South Carolina, Ohio, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi. They outsource a few appliances to China, but the mixer is one of its products made in America.

If you prefer to buy products made in the USA, then it will please you to know that they make Igloo coolers in America. According to their website, it manufactures its products in a 1.8 million-square-foot, three-building facility in Katy, Texas. You can’t get much more American than that!

With seven manufacturing plants in the United States, from Tennessee to Illinois, it’s safe to say that your favorite Hershey’s chocolate treat was made on American soil. Although, they have offices and distribution centers located overseas. You can find Hershey plants in places like Brazil and Mexico.

They manufacture the product at a 40-person Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania plant. Originally made of steel, they now make a plastic version. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, they make all Slinky toys on the exact machine that James invented to make the original toy. How cool is that?

Their mission statement on the website says, “Rather than farming out production and importing finished Airstreams from plants in other countries, we build every trailer here in the United States, and do it ourselves. In fact, Airstream even ships its American-made trailers worldwide into international markets—because quality isn’t only appreciated here, after all.”

“The family ownership has always been dedicated to keeping jobs here, so they’ve always tried their best to keep workers employed and reinvest in technology or product innovation, and we’ve been able to stay relevant in the marketplace,”  Kelly said.

According to All American Reviews, Whirlpool has eight primary manufacturing facilities where they make their appliances. The factories are in Tennessee, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The company claims to employ “28,000 Americans” to run its “manufacturing process and day-to-day” operations. They also own other popular brands like Maytag and Roper.

The company released a statement on their website, saying, “Most Hallmark greeting cards sold in the United States are produced here by Hallmark employees in our greeting card production center in Lawrence, Kansas.” They said that they make some of their gift items overseas, including China. At least you can feel confident that Hallmark greeting cards are American made.

“We source these products locally and we produce them locally and get them straight into the store in a matter of days,” Quinn added. You can feel good knowing that they made your bag of potato chips in America.

Gibson USA also makes their semi-acoustic guitars such as the Gibson ES Series. You can rock out with pride, knowing that your Gibson guitar is an American product. Many legendary musicians have played Gibson guitars, from Eric Clapton to Sheryl Crow, so you’ll be in good company.

According to Business Insider, Musk said at the opening event of the factory, “Giga factory Shanghai will be the first Tesla Giga factory outside the United States and it will be the most advanced Giga factory as well. We want to make this factory extremely environmentally sustainable, and for this to be a showpiece for the world.”

According to All American Reviews, LL Bean manufactures 425 out of 5000 products in the USA, which makes their American-made products less than 10% of their overall portfolio. Don’t be fooled into thinking they make all of their products in America. 

CBS News spoke with Julie Parks, the American Girl’s director of public relations, who confirmed where the dolls are produced. “In the very beginning, the dolls were made in Germany,” Parks said. “It’s one of those things, the majority of the world’s toys are made in China, and we are no exception.”