Companies are always looking for ways to increase production, profits, and ultimately cut corners. This means that a lot of companies in America get looked over for companies with cheaper products - most notably China.
You may have some of these items on your property and you think they talk about American values, but check where they really come from.
Tesla
Tesla is a car manufacturer that makes electric cars. The business is based in the United States.
But did you know that Elon Musk has moved quite a bit of his production on the cars to Shanghai? This results in the car being 50% built overseas.
Nike
When people see the Nike logo they think of American sports. Well even though things started in Beaverton County, Oregon, that's not the case anymore.
The brand couldn't help but take the offer of cheaper labor resulting in them moving their production to China. This results in sweatshops.
Converse
Here's another shoe company on the list. They did sell off everything to Nike nearly twenty years ago.
Now you can find so many knock-offs that are made in both China and Indonesia.
Lays Chips
Some cultures hate flavors that others love.
Lay's was bought out by China to they could make flavors for their own culture - this includes cucumber, seaweed, and squid. You don't commonly see these flavors in America.
Dirt Devil
When someone buys a vacuum they want it to last a long time. After all, they aren't a cheap investment.
Royal Appliance wanted to uphold those values, until they were bought out by TTI, a company based in China. The high price tag has stayed but people wonder if the quality is still there.
Smithfield Cooked Ham
Smithfield Foods was bought in 2015 by WG Group for almost $5 billion. They made half of the globe's pork.
The pigs are raised and then sent to a slaughterhouse before being shipped to China.
i-phones
Even I-Pads aren't what they used to be. To increase production and cut costs the company decided to send all of its production to China.
If Apple ever has to move its base of operations. They would probably never come back to the United States.
LL Bean
People know LL Bean well and always went to them if they needed equipment for hiking or just going outdoors.
Less than 10% of their products are still made in the US. The ads seem to try and make buyers believe otherwise.
Smithfield Boneless Ham Steak
This one is so strange. The company faced backlash after they said they would change their operations by 1. Raising the pigs in the States 2. Shipping them to China for slaughter and packaging 3. Shipped back to the US.
The fury and windfall didn’t phase stockholders, who just sold it outright.
American Girl Dolls
These were flying off the shelves at one point – another toy in a long line of “must-haves.”
But even though the name makes people think of red, white, and blue, Mattel would rather see more green. Everything is made in China like the rest of their toys. This includes the clothing sets. Want American? Sew your own.
Green Giant
Green Giant vegetables are sourced from many countries including China.
A shopper posted her examination of frozen vegetables she purchased and wrote: "The first package was Birdseye Mixed Vegetables: Carrots, broccoli, baby potatoes, baby cob corn, and red diced bell peppers. It said 'Product of U.S.A., Mexico, and Vietnam'.
UBER
UBER wanted so desperately to stay independent.
But when you’re working against a multi-billion-dollar Chinese, government-controlled taxi company (Didi) that is determined to put you out of business, there’s not much chance of survival. The ended up selling to avoid losing over 1 billion a year.
Gillette Razors
“Made in Boston” – at least that’s what the big campaign ads say.
What most people don’t know is that it’s not 100% accurate. Some of the parts are made in the US. Others are outsourced to China, Mexico, and Poland – particularly the handles and batteries.
Fisher-Price Toys
Even if you don’t have kids, you’ll know the uber-famous toy brand. they are subject to Chinese manufacturing like the rest of the umbrella holder, Mattel.
Things went south fast when there were mass recalls over many years because cheap materials contained dangerous amounts of lead. They’re now scrambling to regain public trust.
Harley Davidson
Nothing says rough and rowdy America like a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, brand has been around since 1903 and evoked clubs that embrace free living. Even though the plants are in the US, most of the electrical parts are … you guess it. MiC =Made in China.
Barbies
It will be hard to find a house that doesn’t have a Barbie, or some rip-off of one.
They’re classic, iconic, and ever evolving. Instead of fashion models girls and boys can play with doctors and scientists. But they were never American. The factories started in Japan then moved to other countries.
Craftsmen
If you remember Sears (or still happen to have one by some miracle), you’ll know this line of hardware tools and lawn equipment.
But in 2017 they were bought by Black and Decker (and logical purchase). But this meant that the manufacturing got moved outside of the US.
Calvin Klein
CK brand was born in New York in 1968. The young designer took a chance and spent $10,000 to open his first store in a NY hotel.
From there it exploded into provocative underwear ads and famous jeans. Now, although the leather parts come from Italy, the rest of it is outsourced.
Smithfield Bacon
Although Smithfield's website says: “Smithfield has not, does not, and will not import any products from China to the United States. No Smithfield products come from animals raised, processed, or packaged in China. All our U.S. products are made in one of our nearly 50 facilities across America,” the statement is a bit of a loophole.
While their pigs are not raised in China, the carcasses are shipped there to be processed before returning to the US.
Levi Strauss & Co.
The durable jeans that are in the heart of Levi’s line are a bit of a mishmash in construction.
A few designs are made exclusively in the States – because the denim is sourced in North Carolina. But many other items (like shoes and other clothes) are made in Mexico, Vietnam, China, etc.
Melissa & Doug Toys
Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, the toys certainly will.
Think of those wooden playthings that seem out of the 50s or 60s, bright puzzles, early learning toys, and those food sets that allowed kids to play at grocery shopping. M&D got into trouble when their Chinese factories were caught using excess barium in their paints.
Ray-Bans
These sunglasses are not only one of the most recognizable names in the field, but their design is also known throughout the world.
Bausch + Lomb sold the brand to an Italian company, who in turn, produces some of them in China. If you want American, you’ll have to get the vintage ones.
Adidas
This one wasn’t even American to begin with. The Nike competitor resides in Germany but has very firm grip on the Us sports market.
There are workshops all over the world – including Cambodia, Pakistan, Korea, Japan, and India (and many more). About 30% of the factories are spread across China.
New Balance
Although the well-known athletic shoe brand claims to be an American company, the shoes are actually made overseas.
New Balance materials are mostly sourced from overseas, including their outer soles, which are manufactured in China. However, the shoes are labeled “made in the USA”. Sneaky!
Motorola
Motorola began as an American company owned by Google, but that was to change in 2014. That year, Lenovo, a Chinese smartphone producer, bought the company.
While Motorola’s headquarters are at least still in Midwestern America (Chicago, Illinois), like so many other products, their manufacturing takes place in Chinese factories.
Segway Inc
Segway, the futuristic-looking self-balancing electric scooter, was first released in 2002. Segway is still based in New Hampshire but unfortunately struggled in the American market.
Because of the struggles, the company was passed through several owners until it was sold in 2015 to Ninebot, a Shanghai-based tech company that produces short-distance motorized transport devices.
Oakley Sunglasses
Oakley sunglasses contain a “Made in the USA” label, but the brand has created some controversy about where their goods are actually manufactured.
Headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California, Oakley was bought by Luxottica in 2007, which moved some of their production to a Chinese factory.
Spotify
Spotify allows users access to millions of songs and albums as well as customized channels to suit individual tastes -- all within the comfort of their own smartphone.
But in 2013, Tech Crunch noted that the music platform announced a share swap with China-based company, Tencent Music Entertainment. This means that Spotify is now partially owned by China.
Forbes
Forbes Media has had a tremendous influence on its American viewers through its digital media, print, and television outlets. The media giant reportedly reaches 75 million people each month.
Forbes was sold to a Hong Kong investment group (Integrated Whale Media) in 2014, though their headquarters are still in New York and Steve Forbes remains the editor-in-chief.