Unlike Nike, Adidas, or Reebok, New Balance Sell Shoes Through Sharing Its Commitment to American Workers

In my home state of Oregon, Nike  is the only Fortune 500 company and many people in my neighborhood work at Nike's expansive campus in Beaverton in the marketing, sales, and finance departments. Yet, not a single worker in Oregon actually makes shoes. Like most of its competitors, Nike appears to view domestic production of running shoes as an archaic relic in this age of global competition.

That's why I was thrilled last week to find a small label on a pair  of New Balance   767's that I purchased which said "Committed to American Workers." The label explained, "We believe most consumers think "Made in USA" means that real manufacturing jobs were provided to U.S. workers in order to make that product. The shoes produced in our U.S. factories are made by U.S. workers using both U.S. and imported materials. Where the level of domestic value is at least 70%, we have labeled the shoe "Made in USA." Where it falls below that level, we have qualified it as containing both domestic and imported materials. This determination is based in part on a survey of consumers conducted by the FTC."

The label piqued my curiosity so I went to Wikipedia where there is an excellent entry on New Balance's socially-responsible business practices. Part of this entry reads: "A century after William Riley made the first New Balance products in Boston, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. still remains committed to making shoes in the United States. Today, about one quarter of New Balance shoes are American-made. There are two active factories in Massachusetts and three in Maine; and one supplier has a factory in California that assembles only NB products. In fact, while other manufacturers have moved entirely overseas, New Balance has added 45% more U.S. manufacturing jobs since 1995."

As you'll see in the below video which the  National Association of Manufacturers produced, New Balance is wise to leverage its commitment to American workers. How good are the shoes? Well, I've been buying New Balance for over 25 years, and I've always enjoyed their fit, quality, and durability. Since New Balance prices are comparable to what the the larger shoe manufacturers charge, why not get a great shoe and support American workers at the same time? With more people concerned about the ethics behind the manufactured goods they buy, the future of New Balance is bright.

Comments

[laurence green]

Patrick this is an incredible site!