My new winter coat arrived this morning. It is a well-made brown "barn coat," or "chore coat" as we call it up home. Warm and lightweight, a cotton-duck shell and blanket liner, it looks good and is sturdy, And it was made in America, in Bristol, Tennessee. Customer service was great. Looking at the web site, I could not tell the chest size and arm length of the XL, 2XL, etc. So I called the 800 number. A very nice lady told me the chest measurements off the top of her head; when she could not remember the arm length, she had me wait while she sent and got one my size and measured the sleeves. One of the nicest retail encounters I've had in a while.

The internet is a great way to shop if you are looking for "Made in the USA" items. For many things, a search will turn up something you can use. My coat is a Pointer Brand.

And it cost me $65 with shipping. If I didn't need an X size it would have been a few dollars less.

Buy American. We have workplace safety rules. Environmental regulations. Right to organize. Child labor laws. Minimum wage. All hard-won accomplishments that give us a good quality of life.

For American Union Made, see All American Clothing.

This site lists many sources of American made products.

And right here in Apache, Oklahoma, we have Mo Betta, a small business that makes western shirts right here to custom order. There customers include pro-rodeo cowboys and country singers (including Garth Brooks), but you can get a fairly simple shirt made for about $55.

And, of course, if you buy food grown outside the United States, you do not know what kinds of pesticides or herbicides were used, or how near to harvest they were used. Many, many countries have little pesticide or herbicide regulation.