WMDT 47 NEWS - It's the holiday season and what better way to support your country, or even community, than by buying American made products. WMDT is now joining the ABC News family for The Great "Made In America" Christmas.
It's kind of like a buy here, pay here, but it's missing one element: profit here. Economists say if we all spent just $64 on holiday gifts made in America, we could create 200,000 new jobs right here in the U.S.
So WMDT roamed the Centre At Salisbury mall looking for shoppers willing to let us check their tags. Out of five people, and 10 products, only two were made in America. The rest came from China, Bangladesh, and Nicaragua.
"Honestly, it's difficult to find products that are actually made completely here," said Jill Caton from Ocean City.
We asked Will Taylor of Ocean View if all this makes him want to buy more American made products and he says "I always like to buy more American made products."
A local economist says not to give up completely on products made overseas. "We're actually an exporting nation so it would be horrible for our customers to stop buying from us because they want to buy locally," said Memo Diriker.
Lucky for them, the National Retail Federation estimates the average holiday shopper will spend $750. We are asking they spend less than $100 of that on products made right here at home.
WMDT will continue to push for this initiative. Also, be sure to tune in to World News With Diane Sawyer. David Muir scours the country for the best gifts that are made in American towns and features them in a full report that airs every Wednesday.