Original Source Of The Leather

[wareagle]

How do you tell where a "side" of leather came from? in other words what country it originated in. Had a customer ask this this weekend and All I knew was it was from one of three countries that supply my supplier.

That is why I am reluctant to claim "Made in the USA" I know all of the metal parts come from Asia but never sure where the leather comes from.

[BillB]

wareagle,

I had to do some research on Wikipedia.org before I tried to give you my opinion on this touchy subject.

On Wikipedia.org under the section about the label "Made in America" I found this:

"Legal requirementsU.S. content must be disclosed on automobiles and textile, wool, and fur products. No law requires most other products sold in the U.S. to be marked or labeled Made in USA or have any other disclosure about their amount of U.S. content. However, manufacturers and marketers and Persons who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content in their products must comply with the FTC’s Made in USA policy.

American-made chopsticks showing the "Made in USA" label.

A Made in USA claim can be expressed (for example, "American-made") or implied. In identifying implied claims, the Commission focuses on the overall impression of the advertising, label, or promotional material. Depending on the context, U.S. symbols or geographic references (for example, U.S. flags, outlines of U.S. maps, or references to U.S. locations of headquarters or factories) may convey a claim of U.S. origin either by themselves, or in conjunction with other phrases or images.

In 1996 the FTC [1] proposed that the requirement be stated as:

It will not be considered a deceptive practice for a marketer to make an unqualified U.S. origin claim if, at the time it makes the claim, the marketer possesses and relies upon competent and reliable evidence that: (1) U.S. manufacturing costs constitute 75% of the total manufacturing costs for the product; and (2) the product was last substantially transformed in the United States.However, this was just a proposal and never became part of the final guidelines which were published in the Federal Register [2] in 1997.

[edit]Assembled in USA

A product that includes foreign components may be called "Assembled in USA" without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the "assembly" claim to be valid, the product’s "last substantial transformation" also should have occurred in the U.S. That’s why a "screwdriver" assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn’t usually qualify for the "Assembled in USA" claim.

[edit]

With the definitions above, I would say you can at least claim that it was assembled in the USA. If you do any art work and tooling you should point out that it was done in the USA.

I would hate to see good leather craft be put down simply because we can not identify where the leather came from.

BillB

[hardtimes]

I think the only way to know would be if the supplier could tell you when you purchased it.

Along the same lines of the previous post:

In the steel business, where I primarily work, we utilize foreign produced steel all the time. We are "Made in America" because the steel undergoes a "significant" transformation here in our factory. It isn't the same size, shape, or chemical composition when it leaves the production line. So, as far as your leather goes, if you would like to say it was Made in America, you probably shouldn't buy preassembled products or packaged kits and finish them. However, if you wanted to buy a hide, (regardless of where it came from) cut it, assemble it, and finish it you should certainly be able to consider it "Made in America."

[Slider]

I am fairly new here and can't answer the country of origin question. As for made in the USA I prefer "Handcrafted in the USA" after all that is what it is regardless of the leather's origan. It says an American was employed in its creation and will profit from is sale..

How do you tell where a "side" of leather came from? in other words what country it originated in. Had a customer ask this this weekend and All I knew was it was from one of three countries that supply my supplier.

That is why I am reluctant to claim "Made in the USA" I know all of the metal parts come from Asia but never sure where the leather comes from.

[wareagle]

Thanks for the replies, it does help. will go with Handcrafted in the USA