6 Ways to Make "Made in America" Part of Your Brand

The words “Made in America” are typically associated with durability, great quality, and good for the economy. If you’re selling US-made products, you’re also ensuring that they’re produced under United States manufacturing regulations. That assurance is good for business, and you want to make the best of the marketing opportunities. 

We’re in favor of producing closer to the end customer. Aside from benefitting local economies, shorter distances between production and the end customer means less emissions. That’s why we ship products to US-based customers from our fulfillment centers within the US. We also offer a wide selection of products that are made partly or exclusively in America.

We’re proud of our lineup and think you should be too, especially when you choose products that are both manufactured and printed close to your customers.

To make your shoppers see the benefits of investing in domestically-manufactured products, you want to weave these selling points into your content and marketing campaigns.

Why choose “Made in America”?

Selling products that are made in America isn’t always the cheapest option, but consider it a smart investment. Consumer preference for buying American products has been steadily increasing since the 2008 recession. According to a recent poll, 72% of respondents say they seek out US-made products and nearly half of the people surveyed said they’d be willing to spend 10–20% more for them.

There are many reasons for this shift. Even though it’s cheaper to buy imported apparel, most people recognize the benefits of investing in goods made closer to home. 

• Better quality

People believe that when they buy products made in the USA, they’re paying for better quality. This is because American factories are generally held to higher standards when it comes to product materials and their traceability.

• A stronger economy

Buying American-made products doesn’t just benefit the workers who make them. Purchasing goods made locally creates a ripple effect throughout the domestic economy. 

• The greener choice

Tons of apparel are being shipped across the Pacific Ocean. Currently, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Products made in the US for US consumers mean lower transport emissions and less negative environmental impact.  

• More ethical

Manufacturing products in the US is also important from an ethical standpoint. Sometimes imported items have been found to be produced in sweatshops, in unsafe conditions, or with unfair pay.

One example among many in the apparel industry with questionable work environment standards is Shein. Its workers in Guangzhou were found to be working 75 hours per week while getting paid 47 US cents per produced item.

Products made in American factories must comply with US labor standards, which are generally stricter and better regulated. With clothing made in the USA, it’s easier to know it’s ethically manufactured.

So how can you connect these values with your business? Let’s talk about it.

Learn more: How We Can Reduce Textile Waste and Contribute to a More Sustainable Future

What you need to know about Printful’s products

If you’re just starting to look into print-on-demand (POD) possibilities, or you’re new to POD, we suggest taking a look at our What is Print-on-Demand guide. One of the best parts about working with a POD provider is that production and shipping are taken care of for you, while you focus on customizing products and marketing.

Among other services, Printful offers premium-quality products and high-quality printing and embroidery. 

Our products are printed, embroidered, and the all-over print products are hand-sewn in our fulfillment centers worldwide. We ship from fulfillment centers closest to your customer’s locations. At the moment, we have three fulfillment centers in the United States.

Printful’s fulfillment centers

Printful doesn’t manufacture 99% of its products. We source blank products from different suppliers that share similar values to us. We aim to work with manufacturers focused on long-lasting, sustainable, and premium quality apparel. If you want to learn more about the brands we work with, check out our Apparel Brand Guide.

As an example of the types of manufacturers we work with, here’s a video of Audélia Krief, the CEO of SOLO Group, whose iconic flagship brand SOL’s is featured in Printful’s product catalog.

That 1% is a product we’ve recently started making ourselves—the Premium Eco Hoodie. For now, we produce this product in Latvia and Mexico. In the near future, we plan to launch more Printful Original products focusing on premium quality, sustainability, and size inclusivity.

Our product catalog is always growing. If you’ve subscribed to receive our Printful Ecommerce Newsletter, we’ll update you about new product releases.

Learn more: How to Start an Online Store with Printful

Print-on-demand products made in the USA

You can find Printful’s Made-in-America apparel in our men’s and women’s categories by performing a filter search.

Simply head to our product catalog and choose your product category, for example, men’s clothing. Click on all men’s clothing on the left-hand side, and then click on the all filters tab located above the product list. Once you click on all filters, you’ll see a features tab where you can select made in the USA.

Alternatively, you can search by brands. Our current all-American product supplier is American Apparel, but we also work with other providers like Bella + Canvas who make some parts of their products within the USA.

On each product page, you’ll find a source tab where we provide information about the supplier as well as the manufacturing location.

Here’s a list of our products made exclusively within the USA as of publishing this article. 

Now that you know how to find Printful products that are made in the US, let’s dive into marketing. 

How to promote your American-made products

People want to buy things that are made stateside, so promote the fact that you offer products made within the borders of the USA. Make it a central part of your brand, online and offline. It’ll encourage customers to stay loyal if they know that by supporting your business, they’re also supporting the economy and ethical manufacturing. And it makes you stand out from your competition.

Here are 6 ways to make “Made in America” a key part of your brand:

1. Your store’s “about” page or mission statement

The “about” section of your website is where you get to share your company’s history, personality, and values. It’s an organic way to write about the choices you make for your brand, including making and printing your products in the USA.

Take American Giant, for example. Their About Us page describes the company’s origins, goals (restoring American jobs while creating high-quality products), and values (producing long-lasting clothing that’s better for the environment). “Made in America” is entwined in everything they do and every product they offer.

Source: American Giant

How you choose to incorporate “Made in America” within your business is completely up to you, but we suggest keeping in mind your brand’s niche. If you want to go further than your About page though, you can write a mission statement to elaborate more on your corporate values or outline the history of your brand. 

Todd Shelton’s store has a minimalistic design and shines a spotlight on product quality. And just like the American stars twinkle in many of the product names, the message is also proudly accentuated on the About page under the Made in USA and Todd tabs. Todd tells visitors a story about how he grew the business from outsourcing manufacturing overseas to shifting focus and creating well-fitting clothing in a New Jersey factory.

Other brands like Gamine Workwear and Hackwith Design House let their customers know where their products come from on their front pages.

You don’t have to be as all-American-centered as these businesses, but you can let your customers know that your brand holds some of these values. 

Learn more: How to Write an About Us Page That Rocks

2. Visuals on your website

Make “Made in America” visible on your store’s home page. Think of an American Apparel retail store—when you walk in, you see “Made in LA” posters everywhere. You can’t not get the message that their clothing is made in America. Make it obvious on your website too, as American Trench does in the image below.

Source: American Trench

3. Product tags

A product tag is a great way to draw attention to your American-made clothing offline. There are specific details that need to be mentioned on product tags like the material, size, and origin. So, when your products originate in the US, it always show up on the tag.

4. Your email marketing

Adding a simple footer is a subtle way to draw attention to your American-made products in every email you send without directly mentioning it. Even if you’re emailing about something unrelated—new product updates or your latest blog post—the footer will still be there.

5. Social media

There are so many ways to promote “Made in America” on social media. Post photos of your products to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and add a #MadeInTheUSA hashtag along with a product description. Or, post behind-the-scenes photos of you and your store so your customers see for themselves where operations take place. We do this a lot on Printful’s Instagram—sharing photos of our customers’ products and employee shenanigans.

Take a look at Shinola’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages for a great example of what to do on social media. They manufacture their beautiful watches in Detroit and work with specialty fabricators and manufacturers in other locations in the US—that’s a central part of their branding. Their social media bios highlight the fact that they’re based in Detroit and are dedicated to creating quality products with an American workforce. They regularly post behind-the-scenes photos of Detroit, their products, and their manufacturing process.

6. Product descriptions

You provide photos and info about the fabric and fit; why not include the fact that it’s made in the USA? Your customer is already looking at your products and making the decision about whether or not to buy.

This is also an opportunity to explain the higher cost. American-made products are rarely the cheapest options on the market, but with the extra price, you can guarantee quality. 

Here’s an example:

L.L. Bean is known for products made in the USA. Their boots especially are durable, classic, and hand-crafted by their stitchers in Maine. They’re expensive and time-consuming to make, but they’re still wildly popular. L.L. Bean explains this on their product page:

Source: L.L.Bean

We do this with Printful’s product catalog as well—there’s a little American flag on the bottom-right corner of everything that’s made in the USA.

Go forth and grow your brand

Ultimately, products made in the USA will always be more expensive but know that they are good quality. The key is to make it a central part of your brand and messaging, both online and offline. Chances are your customers won’t mind spending more—they’ll be glad to know they’re boosting the economy while buying a high-quality product.

Have experience with American-made products? Tell us about it in the comments below.