| Why Buying 100% Canadian Made Products is a Thing of the Past  I have always favoured Canadian made products whenever I sell to my customers. I also support buying local whenever I can. Recently we lost a bid on a rather large order because the company we were competing against was supposedly selling all Canadian Made Products. Some of the products we proposed to supply were made ‘offshore.’ A few of the committee members said that the final decision to give the contract to the other company came down to the fact that it was going to be using the product to outfit a team that would be representing Canada in another country. They felt it would only be appropriate to have Canadian Made products. While I commend the committee for their good intentions, I have to say they were misinformed. -
- Do you really know who made it?
 Had the committee members actually done a bit further investigation they would have discovered that the company they awarded the contract to actually has started to manufacture several of their products offshore. This well-known company started out manufacturing totally in Canada, but found it impossible to keep the prices reasonable. Consumer supply and demand is driven solely by price tolerance, or “what the market will bear.” You can create the best widget available, but if nobody will pay the price for it, you will not be able to afford to manufacture it for long. -
- We have noticed a steady decline in the amount of Canadian made clothing available at a reasonable price. The fact is, manufacturing clothing in this country is very expensive because it is labour intensive. Labour is one of the highest expenses in any business.
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- Our government tax system and unions have made it difficult to employ competitive labour forces in this country. I am not attacking the government or unions because I feel we can be proud of the leadership Canada shows when it comes to human rights. We have a proud history of being the first to abolish slavery, give rights for women and support gay marriage. Canada is, in my opinion, the most progressive country in the world. Having said that, large companies looking at their bottom line will choose labour forces that can manufacture the quality standards they require for the best price available. With our high standards, Canada cannot be expected to compete in this arena.
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- We as Canadians must also consider trade commerce with other countries. That means if we expect other countries to buy our products we must in turn buy products from them. A good example of this is the ongoing dispute with the American and Canadian beef farmers. We want Americans to buy our beef don’t we?
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- Higher Standards?
- Many countries have adopted some of the same labour standards Canada uses. This means workers in other countries are treated fairly and paid a fair wage. The suppliers TMS Promotional Wear deals with all employ this same set of high standards when choosing companies in foreign countries to manufacture their products.
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- Several years ago in our effort to support Canadian Made products, we found we were losing the battle with our competitors, as they supplied less expensive imported alternatives. In the customers eyes they were the same quality for a better price. We were forced to seek out more affordable products to stay competitive. The only alternatives we were able to find were made in other countries. This is proof that the consumer drives the market.
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- As the consumer, it is your responsibility to make an informed decision when choosing what you buy. If price is your only consideration then you have no right to judge. If you decide that you would prefer to buy Canadian made products in order to support our country, please do some homework to be sure you make an informed decision. It is not a sin to buy products made offshore. You will be supporting Canadian commerce with another country and creating jobs for people who perhaps would not have one.
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- Be an Ethical Consumer
- One of our customers, Linda from LA Designs, believes in the buying power of the consumer. She chooses who she buys from carefully. For instance, she refuses to buy Nike products and Wal-Mart shoes and apparel because of their manufacturing policies. She’s decided that sweatshops where eight year old children are paid pennies to make shoes that sell for $300 is unreasonable and unnecessary. Taking advantage of the working poor in third world countries is unacceptable. She advises using online watch-dog groups to keep informed. You can visit www.takeitpersonally.org to learn more.
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- In the end, remember that the most important thing is, when you buy from TMS Promotional Wear and Products, you will be supporting a Canadian company and allowing us to continue supplying our customers with the very best products and service available. You can also have some peace of mind knowing that a child somewhere out there in the world, maybe like your own, is in school getting an education instead of sewing your newest jacket or golf shirt.
Dan Burke is a promotional industry professional dedicated to the business success of his clients. To find some great new promotional products or more resources visit http://www.TMSpromotions.ca or contact him by email at : dan@tmspromotions.ca Reprint Info: This article is freely available for reprint provided the copyright notice and resource box at the end of the article is left intact. If you are using this article in a website or eBook, please make sure that the link to www.TMSpromotions.ca is live or clickable.
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