As the holiday gift giving season rolls around, many Americans are thinking about what gifts to buy loved ones.  Most of the products consumers buy are made overseas, by foreign workers, even if consumers don’t want to support those jobs.

In a survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center, 78 percent of Americans would choose to buy American made product over an identical foreign one. The survey also found that over 60 percent of people would still buy the American made product if it cost ten percent more.

Americans want to buy American made products to help make and keep jobs inside the U.S., but sometimes it isn’t as easy as it seems.  Some products may be misleading as to where they are made.

Most products are not required to reveal their American heritage by law, but if a company chooses to, it has to comply with federal rules meant to keep consumers from being mislead.  Flags and other patriotic symbols are allowed as long as the product states where it’s made, which can be hard to find.

True U.S. made products are out there. Some are new companies in their first year and some have been around for over 50 years.

Shinola is a brand new company with its roots in Detroit.  They sell handmade watches, bicycles, leather goods and journals.  Shinola has partnered with other American manufacturers, like Horween Leather and Waterford Precision Cycles to create high quality products. They are available online at http://www.shinola.com/.

There are many products that have been made in the U.S. for years.  The original Wiffle ball has been in production for 60 years after it was created in the summer of 1953. The Wiffle ball was  Dave Sr. Mullany’s solution to a hard ball and the smaller space of a backyard.  It has been produced in Shelton, Connecticut ever since, along with bats and other Wiffle brand products which are available at http://www.wiffle.com/.

Stihl chain saws and handheld outdoor power equipment has it’s headquarters in Virginia Beach. Although not all of its employees work in America, most of them do. It employs over 2,100 people nationwide, with more than 1,900 in Virginia Beach.  They work in a variety of positions from manufacturing, product assembly, manufacturing engineering, sales and marketing and finance.

Stihl produces blowers, trimmers, brushcutters and multi tasks tools. It is also the number one selling brand of chain saws worldwide at http://www.stihlusa.com/.