By shining the spotlight on companies that make their goods in America, Mouritzen hopes to put an end to the defeatist idea that nothing is made in the U.S. anymore – that we are all hapless victims of globalization.
Peterson writes:
The American Brand Project aims to put the spotlight on such companies while serving as an e-commerce marketplace for their wares, taking a cut of the resulting transactions. On its website -- now up in beta version and set for a full launch in the fall -- the project lays out the stories of the companies whose products it sells, and extends a special offer for each. It rates companies on their quotient of American-ness, awarding points for whether they are headquartered in the United States, how much of their revenue remains here, how many of their raw materials are sourced domestically, and the degree to which they rely on American labor.Mouritzen and four friends came up with the idea during a conversation about U.S. unemployment. They decided to use their digital marketing skills to boost companies that produce in the U.S. and employ American workers. Even Mouritzen had his doubts in the beginning, according to the article:
"We had the perception, like many others, that quality products really were not manufactured in the U.S. anymore," Mouritzen told me. "Luckily, we were proven severely wrong. As we started looking around, we found lots of great companies producing great products, but many of them were not telling their stories very well."One such company is Hanky Panky, which produces intimate apparel and relies exclusively on American contractors to manufacture its products. While doing business in an industry that has otherwise moved most of its operations overseas, Hanky Panky is keeping its services as intimate as its products. Rather than following cost-cutting models by moving production abroad, the company is able to build closer relationships with its customers and its capacity to quickly tailor orders to their needs.
As Peterson reports, the American Brand Project is not merely about making an abstract argument about sustained U.S. manufacturing and jobs. Instead, Mouritzen’s new business proves the point through a practical e-commerce venture, championing American entrepreneurship and labor.
Now that’s what we call brand loyalty.
-- Union Thug
