You have only to walk through any large retail store today to see that they are already heavy into Christmas decorations and promotions. The sad thing is that you can pick up a box of lights or just about any toy on the shelves and you won’t find one that is “Made in the USA”. I know the argument is that the store employs U.S. workers and that is a good thing. Of course I don’t begrudge those folks their jobs, although most of them are making barely more than minimum wage and working just under the number of hours which would require their employer to provide health insurance for them. My question is how many Americans are NOT working because the products sold by these stores are made in other countries (typically China).

Of course the other consideration is all the toxins that keep – “accidentally” – appearing in toys and food products from China. So, in light of our massive economic crisis and job loss in the United States, I am renewing my resolve to purchase items only made in the United States of America and from materials made in the United States. This is not an easy thing to do, but for the next two months I will be featuring companies that make and/or sell products that are truly “Made in the USA”.

For our family (and many families in the US), our spending for Christmas and our daughter’s birthday – three weeks before Christmas – will be greatly reduced this year. However, whatever we are able to purchase, I want to make certain that money is bolstering truly American companies (and personally, I prefer they not be listed on the Stock Exchange).

Today’s company is the maker of Kinder Rag Dolls, clothes and accessories. Granza, Inc is located in Florida and from email contact with the owners of the company, I feel comfortable in recommending them to you as a truly “Made in the USA” manufacturer. The dolls are adorable (26 to choose from), as are the clothes. If you are looking for something more traditional and want to stay away from the whole Barbie empire, the Kinder dolls might just fit the bill, and of course have the added benefit of being Made in the USA. They are also a good alternative to Cabbage Patch Dolls which of course are not made in the USA.

If you know of a company that produces clothing or toys in the United States, please leave a comment to this post so that I can verify and feature them in later updates.

OneMom

Update: I emailed the owners of Granza, Inc. again and inquired about their employees and their citizenship status. I received the following response:

Rest assured, all of our employees are US citizens.  We don’t import products or “people” to make our dolls.