Dianna Huff has been on a decadelong quest to buy only “Made in America” goods. It has worked for items such as sheets, socks and sofas. But for other things such as her phone, glasses and weed whacker, it is next to impossible.
She recalls crawling inside her fridge in search of a manufacturer’s label only to see the tiny words “Made in Mexico,” and returning a bathroom scale because despite assurance that the company made products in its U.S. facilities, it didn’t.
“It’s been a real journey that’s come with frustrations and misadventures,” said Huff, a 62-year-old New Hampshire resident who wants to support American manufacturing workers with her spending.
Many Americans say they want to buy domestic products, but global supply chains built over decades of outsourcing have made it challenging. No matter how committed these shoppers are, some products just aren’t made-in-U.S.A.
Almost half of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2024 were assembled outside the country , according to data from S&P Global Mobility. And nearly all of the smartphones sold in the U.S. are made overseas .
Companies often try to tout their American-made bona fides, even if they make only a small share of their goods in the U.S. Politicians from different parties have embraced the cause, too. Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot railed against losing U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. Democratic President Barack Obama tried to promote domestic manufacturing.
President Trump’s tariff strategy aims to bring manufacturing back to towns and cities across the country. Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tariff on imported goods from the European Union and new duties on iPhones made overseas. The U.S. imports from the EU cars, apparel and alcohol products , among other things.
“‘Made in America’ is not just a label slapped on a product; it is a symbol of American Greatness,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. “It is a label the whole world will get used to seeing when we become a global manufacturing powerhouse once again.”
Manufacturers moved production overseas where labor costs were much lower, spurred in part by free-trade agreements. Many people who are interested in buying American-made goods don’t—or can’t—because products made in the U.S. are often more expensive. In a May Morning Consult survey of about 1,000 U.S. adults, more than half said they intentionally bought domestically produced goods at least sometimes, but only 11% of those who were willing to pay more for U.S. goods could stomach a price increase greater than 15%. Older Americans and Republicans were more likely to buy domestic.
Matt Braynard, a Republican political consultant who has been trying to buy American for the past five years, said the switch has saved him money because his items last longer. The 47-year-old swapped his Hugo Boss boxer briefs (five for $69) for ones from Hard Hat Apparel (five for $85.99) and began buying socks from Fits Socks ($13.99 or more per pair) and the Made in America Sock Co. (starting at $14.99 for two pairs).
Braynard, who lives in Northern Virginia, works with political candidates and runs an organization whose work includes advocating for the defendants involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. After deciding to buy American, he gave away his Zegna shirts and neckties, and bought shirts from White Dress Shirts and ties from R. Hanauer. He still hasn’t found a domestically produced suit so he sticks with one that he bought in a Cleveland strip mall nearly a decade ago.
There are other products that are harder to find made in America by a U.S. company. He drives a car made in the U.S. by BMW , and he has a Samsung Electronics smartphone in his pocket.
“It isn’t always easy,” Braynard said. “When I walk through a shopping mall…there’s really nothing for me there.”
He says he found a company that made some of its nonstick pans in the U.S., but it didn’t allow him to buy a set of pans that were all U.S.-made. When he was looking for a new power drill, he read through a Reddit thread where a U.S. factory worker who made the product discussed where the parts inside the drill came from. He couldn’t find American-made razorblades for shaving, so he buys from Procter & Gamble -owned Gillette, which has some U.S. facilities.
Making exceptions is a part of life for the die-hards. Anne Collins, 75, took up buying domestic as a hobby after she retired from her job as a graphic designer in 2016. She started the Facebook group Have Fun Buying Not Made in China. The group doubled in size to about 2,000 members this year with tariffs in the news.
Collins, who lives in Laurel, Md., has helped group members find domestically produced mops, foil pans and artificial flowers.
But when she set out to make her sister a duck-themed Easter basket this year, the only American-made items she could find were a greeting card and a package of Peeps. She filled the basket with knickknacks from big retailers anyway.
“I wasn’t going to give up the fun of it just because some things were made in China,” she said.
In a Reddit forum for people interested in buying American-made products, a commenter asked: “Is a completely made in USA life possible?” One person responded that it would require living like Ted Kaczynski, the infamous recluse known as the Unabomber who lived a primitive lifestyle in a remote cabin.
Lynne Sterling, 72, turns over products to see where they are made, a practice inspired by her parents, who believed any spending should benefit the local community. She also wants the manufacturers to be U.S. companies. She buys U.S.-made New Balance sneakers. She drinks Folger’s coffee, which is owned by Ohio-based J.M. Smucker . Her big concession is a blue mascara made by L’Oréal, which is based in France. “It’s the one I give myself permission for,” Sterling said.
L’Oréal said the L’Oréal Voluminous mascara in cobalt that Sterling uses is made in its plant in North Little Rock, Ark.
Sterling said she drinks Crystal Geyser bottled water, which is sourced from seven springs across the U.S. Crystal Geyser is owned by Tokyo-based Otsuka Holdings —a fact that isn’t disclosed on the label.
When Sterling was told by a Wall Street Journal reporter about the ownership structure, she said: “Oh NO!! Bummer!”
Write to Natasha Khan at natasha.khan@wsj.com and Rachel Louise Ensign at Rachel.Ensign@wsj.com
