We used say "Buy American." This wasn't just to continue a sense of patriotism, but it was to continue our own prosperity as a nation. Businesses exporting jobs overseas to take advantage of cheap labor only means one thing: Americans don't get those jobs. Businesses who do employ citizens then can't compete with the low prices of the businesses that take their labor to China and South America. Then, all of the mom and pop shops we love close. They become rendered obsolete by big corporations.
This is what happened to Terry Locklear's sock company. At one point, half of Fort Payne, Alabama worked at his textile mill.
But it cost Locklear's company a dollar to make each sock, whereas businesses that took their labor overseas would only pay 25 cents. The company couldn't compete. The business was failing. It would soon have to close its doors.
Then, Locklear's daughter Gina came up with one long shot of an idea. Instead of making plain white socks, the company should make organic, stylish socks — the kind that people pay a higher price for because they know they're getting quality products that are good for the environment and are made in the USA. Her father thought she was crazy, but what other choice did they have?
The plan worked.
Gina was able to save her family business and she even won Martha Stewart's American Made Award.
“Encouraging the American public to buy American-made matters,” Martha told the New York Times. “The more socks she sells, the more people she can employ.”
See how one woman saved her family business and proves the American dream is still possible in the video below!
Please SHARE if you're glad there are still companies out there that support American workers!
