The “Made in America” Label

More than three-quarters of affluent consumers prefer brands made in America—up 5 percentage points from 2008, according to a 2011 study by American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group.

A different survey, conducted in April, found that the United States ranked highest on an index measuring the quality of its luxury goods, achieving a score of 267 (compared with an average of 100). This score outranked Italy and France, which are the homes to designer labels like Salvatore Ferragamo and Hermes, respectively. While Chrysler and Levi Strauss have long leveraged patriotism to move product, this is fairly new phenomenon for the luxury sector.

Other popular brands like Brooks Brothers and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row are beginning to use the same type of marketing angle. While a decade ago, the Brooks Brothers only made a few items within the U.S., today, a “large percentage,” are made within the states, according to CEO Claudio Del Vecchio.

Recently, the “Made in America” label has transformed from rah-rah to covetable seemingly overnight. It’s a good marketing strategy: Patriots buy into the American-made image the label conjures up, social activists find value in the U.S. labor laws that protect worker’s rights, and finally, environmentalists love the low-energy impact of domestic production.

Source: Ecouterre

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