Home Grown

From textiles and clothing to guitars and cookware, brands are embracing their American roots

- STORY BY KYLE BEECHEY

CERTAIN COMPANIES HAVE made it their mandate that no matter the cost or difficulty, keeping production on U.S. soil is a core value and part of their operating ethic. Quality control can be more easily managed at a brand's facility close to home, consumer desires can be implemented faster, and in shipping, the carbon footprint of each brand is drastically reduced.

Brands such as Airstream and Gibson are known to last a lifetime and can often be passed down for generations. The consumer can look to these brands for dependability, and the calibre of products keeps them coming back for decades. Today, amid fluctuating tariffs and the widespread desire to ramp up American manufacturing, will other brands follow suit? It is doubtful that the country will return to the manufacturing hub it was in the mid 20th century, but perhaps in the coming years there might be a return to increased U.S. production.

The early 20th century birthed American innovations like the Ford assembly line, and for most of the century the country enjoyed a thriving manufacturing industry, providing work in factories that fabricated metals, textiles and electrical products. At its peak, industry employed 22 percent of the nonfarm workforce, until a long decline began in the 1980s. As of 2023, only 8.3 percent are employed in manufacturing. Several factors are responsible for this decline: the rise of consumer spending favoring services over goods; automation of the assembly line; and, of course, the lower cost of manufacturing in places such as China.

Material World