Canadians are talking this week about keeping jobs in Canada. First RBC was caught shipping IT jobs offshore, the kind of high-paying intellectual white collar “information” jobs the federal government used to brag we would keep while we off-shored the “dirty” work. Then this week a terrible tragedy in Bangladesh called into question the responsibility Canadian companies feel or don’t feel for the safety of their overseas workers. In both cases, many Canadians started asking why can’t we just keep the work here at home? Our unemployment rates are high. Our own youth need work.

Looking at Labels Seems a Lost Cause

I’m old enough (yes, I’m pre-NAFTA) that I can remember checking labels when shopping, especially when I was growing up and shopping with my Mom. We consciously chose to buy clothes with the little maple leaf and Made in Canada woven on the itchy tag. It often cost a few bucks more but we knew people in Canada (well, if you call Quebec “Canada”) that would benefit from the work.

Fast forward to when I started shopping with my own children. You can certainly find a UN’s worth of countries on the clothing labels but the Canada flag is found only on a very few and far between items. Even brands that used to feel Canadian (Roots, Northern Reflections, Canada Marshlands) seem to outsource and overseas part or most of their production.

Low Cost Labels vs. High Cost Cash Grabs

I doubt we’re likely to return to the days of most kids t-shirts being Made in Canada. At $2-4 new from Walmart or Old Navy people are unlikely to switch to paying $8 and up just for a maple leaf on the label. And, in fact, those aren’t the outsourced overseas’d products that bother me.

I do resent, though, paying $200 for a clothing item that the seamstress was paid $1 or less to produce. When high cost labels use low cost, exploited labour to produce their products, I balk.

Coach Versus Baggins and Baggins

When my husband, who is probably the best man I know, wanted to buy me a new purse for a gift, he chatted with some of the women he works with. He discovered Coach was a brand that was popular that year. When he floated the idea in front of me, though, he had no trouble understanding and supporting my view. Coach, I explained, produce almost all of their bags in another country. They pay very little to the people who work so hard to cut and combine the leathers. Then they turn around and charge their customers a fortune.

I’d far rather buy a hand crafted leather purse from a Canadian entrepreneur. A past favourite was Baggins and Baggins. (Any LOR fans out there?!)  They seem to have slipped into retirement. But others I like including Karen Gunna are still hand crafting items worth more than every cent they charge.

My parents and some of my relatives feel this same way about higher end purchases. So when they bought adorable clothes for my toddlers, they bought ones made in Canada. They cost more but the designs were more exclusive and the employment went to Canadians.

Open to Opportunities but Not Obsessing

So now we keep our eyes open and look for labels that show an opportunity to buy Canadian. Facing a whole rack of boxers, my husband will pull out the Stanfields (you still have to check WHICH Stanfields as some our not MIC) instead of the Jockeys. I’ve found a surprising number of socks and sweats at Walmart (of all places) that are actually Made in Canada.

And for a large variety of reasons, we do a lot of shopping from small entrepreneurs either at their studios or at ‘craft’ sales. Canadians have some amazing merchandise on offer if you can find it.

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Do you try to support Canadian businesses? Or do you buy whatever best fits your budget with nary a glance at the country of origin? Please share your experiences with a comment.