How much would you pay if your good were produced locally

[kally]

and employed local people?

I was thinkng about the %20 someone suggested in another thread and YES I would pay that for quite a few things. Maybe not everything but for certain for some things.
It would move industry back to our countries and get more people employed.

Could this actually happen?

[freein05]

I would go along with 20%. I buy my blue jeans online from Diamond Gusset. When they are on sale I pay about the same as I would at Walmart for the foreign made jeans. All of these so called free trade agreements starting with those passed under Clinton have done nothing but move manufacturing off shore.

[puglogic]

I'd pay 20%, perhaps 30% for some items. I'll scrimp and save in other areas in my life so that I can buy things that were grown, sourced, or made as locally as possible.

[iris lily]

Yes, I wouldn't mind paying 20% more for many ting. But I'd want some quality back, too.

The thread on stoves got me to missing those old fashioned stoves like Bette, the ones that weigh a ton, can go on and on.

I love slamming the door on DH's 1970's car, it's got a satisfying "thunk", heavy metal.

[rodeosweetheart]

That's an interesting question. One thing I have noticed where I live is that many very neat things are cheaper here--I can buy a watermelon for 5.98 at the Walmart near Hilton Head, but $3 at the farmer's market a mile from my house--but then the watermelons are grown on our island, so no gas or Walmart mark-up.

I've decided to go back to not buying things made in China--I did it a few years ago for a year, and I bought my Rowenta iron at that time--it was $65 and worth every penny (Deutschemark?-made in Germany). I am not sure what irons are still made in America. Much less South Carolina.

[Mrs-M]

I'd definitely be willing to pay more. In our area we have several specialty areas related to both food and clothing where all is produced right here locally, and we have made purchases from several of the businesses. Would definitely like to see more of that available to us.

Rodeosweetheart. Please tell me more about your Rowenta iron. I have been wanting a new iron for a time and have my mind set on a Rowenta Steamium. I've spent hours upon hours researching and reading consumer reports and ratings related to the Rowenta line of irons, and from everything consumers say, Rowenta is the best out there.

[jp1]

If the items were of a good quality I'd totally pay 20-30% more for them. I don't like to shop and I'm frugal so my budget is heavily weighted towards fixed expenses like rent. Even doubling my budget for things like clothes wouldn't really alter it that much so a local company that made good quality, stylish dress clothes would absolutely get my business. One of the larger items in my budget, after fixed expenses like rent and taxes is food. We eat well at home and we go out to eat at least once per week. A good chunk of our grocery budget goes towards our CSA and all of our eating out is at locally owned places that serve good quality food. And for these items I'm not particularly price sensitive at all. Frankly I think our CSA is good enough that I'd happily pay 20-30% more than what they now charge because frankly an extra $4-6/week wouldn't really change my life at all.

[Gardenarian]

Really depends. I'd pay double for fresh laid eggs. I tend to buy durable goods used. I would pay 50% more for USA made shoes, one of the things I prefer to buy new.

[Rogar]

I don't know that I have an easy answer. I would say that given a choice of a mass produced product from a local company vs. another company I might not be willing to pay any big premium for local. But a lot of local or regional companies have specialy items that are higher quality than mass produced, like say Tom's of Maine or Ben and Jerry's, so could maybe pay twice the price of a national company. I buy local microbrews because they are unique and would pay a premium over national brands. But probably wouldn't pay much extra over non-local microbrews.

I'd be more likely to pay a premium of maybe 20% for a product from a company that uses green manufactury, organic, high quality, or is a socially responsible employer regardless of location. But would also favor local businesses.

Incidentally, I recently discovered that Ben and Jerry's was purchased by the mega corp, Unilever. And 80% of Tom's of Maine was sold to Colgate Palmolive. Crazy.

[daisy]

I would be willing to pay more for a local, quality product. I'm a frugal person, but I much prefer quality to quantity. In most cases I would rather do without something than buy an inexpensive but inferior version.