In the industry, it’s known as "badging": the labels that are required by law to indicate where a product was made. Different countries have different laws around badging, and consumers have a wide range of attitudes toward badging from total apathy to "I won’t buy anything that says ‘Made in China’". One of these days I hope to write up all my thoughts about where products are made, but frankly, it would be such a long blog post, I’m scared I’d frighten off readers for a generation.
But a catalog I was given last night reminded me of my favorite badge ever, and I thought I’d quickly share. The catalog is for Stetson hats, and my understanding was that most, if not all, of their hats were made in the USA. But the front cover of the catalog had the tagline "Made of America". Hmmm. That sounds like someone trying to imply their goods are made in the USA, when really they’re just "American" in style, design, tradition, or ability to BS.
Now, in fairness, I haven’t had a chance to talk to the salesperson about them, so I’ll reserve judgment, and say that we desperately need a hat brand or two, and Stetson certainly has a solid reputation. But I thought "made of America" was intriguing, and not necessarily in a positive way.
Which reminded me of my favorite badge ever. An accessories line we carried had all of their goods made in China. I’m not sure I can think of a brand off the top of my mind that is proud of having their goods made in China, so this particular company had their goods stamped with the words: "Made in Ancient China". Double hmmm. Ancient China does sound cooler than China. But to be made in Ancient China, wouldn’t it have had to be made hundreds or thousands of years ago? Or is there a city called "Ancient"? Someone must have proposed "Made in Modern China" but that got shot down because everyone knows consumers prefer Ancient China to Modern China?
At the end of the day, you can make a high quality product in China if you want to. Just slap the label on it and be able to explain what makes your product great — don’t try to gimmick it with meaninglessness.
This blog entry was designed in San Francisco, CA and typed in China.
May 11, 2010
General