Wednesday, May 29, 2013

'Made in USA' store inspired by book about low-wage work

What a great idea -- a traditional general store that sells only products made in the U.S.A.

Norton's USA in Barrington, Ill., has been selling American-made products for six years with the intention of keeping the country working.

The owner was inspired to start  because of a book:  Nickel And Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. Here's Amazon's reveiw:
...how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you int to live indoors.
manufacture this tells us Norton's proprietor (and actress) Deborah Leydig says her inspiration for launching Norton's U.S.A. came after after portraying Barbara Ehrenreich in a stage adaptation of the book..
Leydig began to research made in U.S.A. products and was upset to "learn how many jobs had been shipped overseas." 
She explains that Norton's U.S.A. was born from a mission "to keep America working."
The store sells clothes, pet supplies, toys, housewares and flags and patriotic decor:
At NORTON'S U.S.A., we sell only products made in the United States! 
We wanted to do something positive to support the American worker and the American manufacturer, so we have spent the last ten years researching American made goods. 
We have over 425 manufacturers from around the country and we add new companies everyday. 
BUY American Made Products with ease. 
When you shop at NORTON'S U.S.A., you help keep America working!
Watch a short video about the store here.