If a plastic bottle containing American-made shampoo was molded in the U.S., but the raw plastic was sourced from China, can the shampoo be labeled “Made in USA.” What do you think?

What does it mean to be “Made in USA?” You’ve probably seen a lot of labels that say “Assembled in USA” or “Designed in USA” or “Partially Made in USA” or “Made in USA with U.S. and Imported Parts.”

It’s great that manufacturers are being honest in their labeling and that they’re entertaining the principle of Made in USA. But what does it take to be able to legally claim American-made?

The Federal Trade Commission requires “that a product …be ‘all or virtually all’ made in the U.S.”

What does “all or virtually all” mean?

1) Final assembly/processing must happen in the United States; and

2) The percentage of parts and manufacturing costs not incurred in the United States must be negligible.

And how far back in the supply chain do you go (as in the case of the shampoo bottle)?

In a nutshell, if the raw material is a significant amount of the product’s total cost or if it is largely associated with the end product, then it must be factored in.

You can read the Federal Trade Commission’s explanation in the link below.

We can happily say that Pathmark Lumination heavy duty American-made path lights are “all or virtually all’ made in the U.S.”

Information for this post came from the FTC’s page: www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-made-usa-standard