a Blog from Apropos Promotions

Back to School
-Stephanie Goodwin, Apropos Intern

I love being home for the summer, but I am anxious to return to the sea of red that is University of Madison. During the freezing Wisconsin winter I see white snow, brown barren trees, black boots, and red jackets. Everyone – the jocks, the nerds, the “coasties,” the hipsters, and even the professors – don bright red Bucky Badger apparel; and at a campus of 40,000 students that’s quite an accomplishment. Before this summer I interpreted the unofficial red uniform as an explicit display of UW Madison’s fervent school spirit. Now though, through my internship within the promotional products industry, I have a much different perspective.

I see the campus’ universal and eager acceptance of the university color as evidence of one of the most successful promotional product campaigns ever. Upon its founding in 1848, promulgating the school and developing an excellent reputation with a rodent mascot named Bucky must have seemed daunting. Yet they doggedly created any product imaginable – pens, golf tees, leg warmers, calendars, iPod cases, stationary, overalls, ice cream, underwear, you name it – with the university logo or mascot. Thus UW Madison’s exhaustive red campaign thrives still today, and enthusiastic Badger students like me can revel in its success.

Made or Assembled in the USA…There is more to this simple phrase that we have seen numerous times in our products. Just because something says Made/Assembled/Manufactured in the US doesn’t exactly mean just that. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an agency charged with “preventing deception and unfairness in the marketplace,” has a main guideline that is quite ambiguous. The FTC states, “Traditionally, the commission has required that a product advertised as Made in the USA be ‘all or virtually all made in the US.”’ The virtually component leaves an unknown. US content must be disclosed on automobiles, textile, wool and fur but there is no law that requires most other products sold here to be labeled “Made in the USA” or have any other disclosure about the amount of US content.

The commission does not need to pre-approve any labels or claims by a manufacturer. But recently, the commission has tightened its definition of Made in the USA to, “exclude items with more than negligible foreign content.” There is no quantitative measure which adds some confusion but it is expected that the majority of components are in fact Made in the USA. This doesn’t mean, however, that anyone can go around placing a USA label onto their products. There are law enforcements in place that catch anyone making false claims.

With this all being said, there are many well-known retailers producing merchandise that is USA made, which is great in boosting our economy. The Row, a line by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Tiffany & Co. have recently provided their consumers with lines that are specifically US made. This is also becoming a growing trend in the promotional products industry. We have recently added a “Made In The USA” section highlighting only a handful of items that are USA Made. So if you are looking for something to be patriotic this coming Fourth of July, check it out.

*Information provided by http://business.ftc.gov and a trusted supplier*