I recently visited a client in New York City with a variety of ribbon bag samples. As I was walking to my car, with four bags hanging from one arm and three from the other, a distinguished gentleman called out to me:
“Are you the one who sells us those overpriced bags?” he asked.
“Overpriced? I think they’re very reasonably priced,” I replied.
“I’ve seen them for much less.”
“But our bags are made in the USA. We make them ourselves right here in Manhattan, where we have a manufacturing facility.”
His face suddenly softened. “My family owned a manufacturing facility in the garment district when I was growing up,” he said. His eyes drifted as his memories surfaced. “Not many companies make their products in the USA anymore.”
“We’ve been doing it for 20 years.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his business card, and handed it to me. He was a high-ranking executive at the company. Maybe I should have smiled and walked away instead of challenging him, I thought.
Then he said, “Give me your card. I’m going to call you to do our next conference.”
It’s nice to know the “Made in the USA” label still means something.
