Any law with the word virtually in it, is a bad law.

so what's american? How about the cloth or leather used to make the shoe? How about the resin used to make the sole? How about the dye used in the shoe? How about the thread used for stitching? How about the laces? How about the glue used? What about the cardboard box used to pack the shoe?

Not all chemical or physical components for 'making' or 'manufacturing' things is available as a natural resource in America. Therefore we have to import components. So where does the definition of a 'component' end and the definition of a 'part' begin?

This shoe company is clearly using more American parts and labor than say an 'american car company'! We call them 'American car's don't we?

Assembled in America is a little clearer but not by much. HOw about preassembling? How about molding?

What if it's made in America but owned by a foreign company?

The thing that makes production cheaper is 'volume'. If companies have to produce parts just for themselves to be 'made in america' then they will never be able to complete against companies that can provide parts for multiple manufacturers around the world. That's got nothing to do with Nafta, that's just business laws of manufacturing.

True about the law being bad. Having said that, there's a reason we have courts. When the words 'Virtually all,' are used, there isn't a thinking person I know who thinks 'virtually' means 70%.

New Balance is obviously barking up the douschbag tree. And they probably even believe their own BS at this point, they've been lying to themselves so much. It is really simple in that the company needs to be forced to remove Made in USA labels and also fined severely. I like New Balance sneakers and if they can't stand on the quality of their product, and feel the need to lie, then give them the punishment they deserve.

People might buy American if they could FIND American. I saw a pair of their shoes that said "made in China". People told me that they were all made in the U.S. and that is a myth that sticks, even though it is a lie.

“We’re not trying to deceive anybody,” said Edward Haddad, vice president of intellectual property with New Balance. “The shoe is made or assembled in the United States by American workers. That’s all we’re saying, and we’re saying it very clearly.”

I find this to be absolutely true.

I wear NB's, have bought many pairs. They all have a very clear statement about what "made in the USA" means when they say it, and it's very consistent with what the company is saying in the article.

It's clear that not all of the materials come from the US, but that to the extent possible they are made and manufactured here.

I've also worn: Nike, Reebok, ASICS, Adidas, Brooks.... Guess how many of them did ANY manufacturing in the US?

Zero.

that's 0% made in the US.

NB makes an honest effort to make their shoes here in the US and they're honest about the process.

grunt-1263073 - So it's your position that we should stop buying NB shoes and force the company to move their US plants overseas?

Why does the company continue to deceive its customers?

Why not simply state that their shoes are assembled in the US from parts obtain from US and foreign sources?

Oh ... they could not milk their claim of "Made In The USA" to the fullest if they told the truth.

Boycott this company!!!!!

They are a problem, not a solution.

I have flat feet. New Balance makes the only shoe I can work out in and not sufffer pain. My feet and I don't care where they are made; we buy them.

There are no made in the U.S. alternatives to New Balance. I used to buy NB's almost exclusively but quit when the materials/construction made my feet stink!! I still try and avoid Chinese made shoes although most of my running shoes are from there!

Truth Hurts-598999 - Watch a pair of their shoes being produced and still try to argue that point.

http://www.newbalance.com/usa/#/tour-a-factory

I used to buy NB's almost exclusively but quit when the materials/construction made my feet stink!!

I do a good amount of wearing and sweating in my NBs, and myyyyy feet don't stink

-just sayin' ;-)

The only thing left that's made in America are babies and a large percentage of them are foreign nationals.

Without foreign trade the world would be a war between the haves and the have nots and it it very important that that circle of trade continues but not at the cost of deception of the consumer regardless of what country they live in. There was a time in history that "Made in America " meant something.It meant that you were buying a quality item made of the best material and finest craftsmanship. That is no longer the case. "Made in America" is an advertisement gimmick and come-on sales pitch to pry open our patriotic pocket books.

I'm all for buying American but trying to find something that is made in America with American parts and produced by an American is pretty difficult unless you need a gun or a guitar. NB shoes is lying to you trying to get people to buy their product under false pretence and patriotic pandering not by offering a Superior product and the politician that are in support of their actions are just as complacent in the lie as the fabricator.

Politician should wear uniforms like race car driver and have their chauffeured driven limos painted up in their corporate sponsors logos so the American people can see more clearly of their best interest as they donot seem to be particularlly concerned about the deception or perception of the American people.

NB shoes is lying to you trying to get people to buy their product under false pretence and patriotic pandering not by offering a Superior product

actually, "superior product" is about the ONLY thing they rely on apart from "made in the usa"

they don't pay Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or any celebrity to endorse their shoes. The've always said that their money goes into R&D rather than celebrity endorsements.

I get about 500 miles out of each pair I run in (I used to get about 300, maybe 350 out of other brands), never had a blister or injury with them. they ARE superior.

go get a pair, you'll get a tag on them that tells you exactly what their process for defining "made in america" is.

there is no deception, only a bunch of people who don't know what they're talking about.

there is no deception, only a bunch of people who don't know what they're talking about.

Starting with the author of the article, Senior producer John W. Schoen.

greck I don't have odor issues with other shoes only NB's ... just sayin' :-)

Where are you going to buy an American made running shoe. Let's close down New Balance. No more shoes that have anything to do with made in America. More jobs for China so they can buy more Ford's and Buick's. Oh, Ford's and Buick's are made in China too. This is a complex problem. I have seen shoes now being made in Viet Nam and other countries. Please write and tell me about those American made running shoes.

Much ado about nothing. Actually, 70% made in America is probably pretty good these days when “virtually” everything is foreign made.

I too lament that it’s near impossible to find anything made exclusively in the United States (don’t look for TV’s or any kind of electronics, you won’t find any) so 70% is about as good as it gets these days.

I will NEVER buy their junk!!! Made in the USA- should mean it was acually made in the USA.

I HOPE THEY GO BROKE

I will NEVER buy their junk!!! Made in the USA- should mean it was acually made in the USA.

how do you know for sure that every shoe you buy that says "made in china" is REALLY made there 100%?

I mean, since you're so into honesty and full disclosure and all.

Maybe they could just say "Worn a bunch in the USA"...

Ever heard of CNMI-Common Wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands--the only commonwealth of the USA is located in the Outer Pacific. It has a non-voting representative in Congress and several top textile industry have assembly line plants there--Jones New York, Liz Claiborne, Nike, Tommy Hilfinger. The workers come from all over the Outer Pacific and Southeast Asia, they are paid less than the USA minimum wage, but their products are labeled made in the USA because it is a USA commonweatlh. check it out-

Yes sir, buy American, buy in your town or community, buy from your local shop keeper as long as they sell products made in our country. There are a few web sites who list the products that they claim are 100% American made. I have tried to double check them; a difficult thing to prove.

Many years back I bought a mess of American made "Radio Flyers." The old Western Auto was going out of business. I thought they would make a good investment. They are the different wagons and such with "Made in America," and our flag stamped on the huge boxes. I thought that some old man like me would want them for their grand children or great grands. The new ones, made in China are raw junk when placed side by side.

I did read that Toyoto had a factory in America, down south as I recall. They employ 1,300 people. I think the parts and the robots are made in Japan. one thousand three hundred people;big nothing.

For those of you who are old enough try to recall how much we love them and the reasons why. Once a year a president makes an effort to remember just the ones at Pearl Harbor.

Mr. Obama wasn't the one who pushed for globalization of our manufacturing infrastructure. That was done by Reagan, Bush I, Clinton (NAFTA-votin' jerk), and Bush II.

Big Business contends that they can't stay competitive in the world market unless they globalize, so that prices are cheaper for Americans.

Blue collar workers' jobs have been moved out of country, and since a whole helluva lot of manufacturing has been moved off shore, they have no jobs and no income. So even though the prices are cheaper, not as many people can buy them.

It didn't help that the CEOs took the money and gave themselves huge bonuses and didn't trickle any of it down to the common man as far as reinvesting in American infrastructure, re-retraining, or establishment of new business.

Mr. Obama is not anti-American. He is anti-greed.

WOW MB!! You took an article about a tennis shoe and whether or not it's made in America and attempted to make it about Obama. Wow. What a troll.

I hate to break it to you but President Obama, or any president before him for that matter, did drive manufacturing jobs overseas. The American public did. When we shop we tent to always look for the best bargain on a product. Over time that all but forces business' to produce their goods cheaper. Because US workers were paid so well they have no choice but to move the production to countries where the labor costs less.

I'm sure anyone left in the shoe industry in the US would love to know just how well they have been paid.Skup,corporate America is socially irresponsible.That is who they are,that is what they are.Obama dosen't have his fingerprints on this.If anything he is the fly in the ointment of corporate America.Some of the small business owners of corporations may be offende when they hear corporate America,but they are not included in this analogy.They may be corporations for accounting and tax purposes,but they really ain't the entitys of the selling out of Americans,dredging HUGE profits on the backs of offshore workers,and sticking it up the rump of thier abandoned workforce and the American people.NO CATCH SHARES!

Sorry, that was a typo, should have said the President did NOT drive...

It's entirely appropriate to bring the President (s) into the discussion when an article deals with issues that are related to globalization!! I agree that the issues of "outsourcing" and "offshoring" go back far before our current President and are bipartisan in nature. I heard Ron Paul today and what he said made a lot of sense, that President Obama isn't a Socialist he's a Corporatist. So were both Bushes,Clinton and Reagan, along with all of our sellout politicians wearing both (foreign manufactured) red and blue jerseys!!

I just took my NBs off and set them aside. Won't buy any or wear them again until they abide by the FTC rules. Corporations do not get to decide how they can label their products. When it comes to truth in labeling, the FTC is the only organization standing between the American people and corporate greed and the concomitant dishonesty and deceptions. I refuse to take any personal actions that directly or indirectly support undermining the authority of the FTC.

If NB wants to communicate that their product is assembled in the US by US workers, great, I love that. But that is not what they are doing. So, hasta la vista NB! I will be sending you a letter, too.

If NB wants to communicate that their product is assembled in the US by US workers, great, I love that. But that is not what they are doing.

if your shoes were made here, they came with a tag that says something akin to this:

Twenty-five percent of New Balance shoes sold in North America are produced by our US workforce using US and imported materials. When possible, we obtain materials from domestic suppliers. At times, due to availability, economic or quality reasons, there is a need to import components from foreign sources. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we have labeled the shoe "Made in the USA." Where it falls below 70%, we have qualified the label referencing domestic and imported materials. This determination is based in part on the Federal trade Commission's survey of consumers.

I know all mine have. This article presented me with no new information about NB's process for qualifying something as "made in USA"

Bravo A1 616--Well said! Good news is that Bush's tax cuts to the wealthy to make more jobs actually worked--Bad news is that 99% of the new jobs created were outsourced.

Vick-How long you think your job will last..Your naive thinking brain washed by the greedy NB is shame. What kind of security they offered you.?
Do you have a contract or a union? You are paid in US dollars borrowed from the chinese..We as a country broke.Majority of the 1,800 jobs at NB,what
exactly their function/role - Selling/advertising? How many manufacturing paying positions for the American worker - unemployment level 10 percent for the last few years destroyed our country..Some how we have to think positive and work together and bring the unemployment below 5 percent.Otherwise,Dick Chaney who made the biggest mess with Mr.Bush will not feel the pinch.We guaranteed the best life style to them with our taxes.Chaney is still involved big time with his 'business empire'-he even moved his business to middle east (UAE) to avoid paying taxes and not to be investigated for illegal activities and human rights violations.At least think like a Proud American please...

Vick, that's great that you are happy working for your company. But your company is lying. If it is such a good company, it shouldn't be afraid to tell the truth. Car manufactureres do, and when a car is 80% made in America, nobody feels nearly the need to chastise and punish them. It is because they aren't lying about it. And then pretending they aren't lying. And then battling in court about it and acting indignant about it. Sure, they have other problems, but 70% 'made in America' is hardly 'virtually all.'

You should be proud of who you work for, but those of us who want all or virtually all content are not. The reason given of a global economy makes such content impossible is untrue. More and more American are demanding that manufacturing come back to this country. We are beginning to realize that this global economy is not entirely in our best interest. We even have fear of some products (food) produced in other countries. I know I will not by Mandarin oranges because they all come from China and China has a very high pollution problem so I will not feed their food to my family or pets. Same goes for any other product. If we can find an alternative here in America made from American products that is the best stimulus package we can give this country. Demand 100% content and more American will go to work. With other countries raising the wages, duties and freight cost rising and custom delays, big business is beginning to understand that the decisions they made 20yrs ago and starting to back fire. Buy American first no matter the cost.

I know! I think it is really a shame that NB executive leadership is not communicating that fact directly in their advertising instead of adopting a label that implies this but also a slew of things that are simply not true.

I like NBs and own two pairs, was getting ready to buy a new pair for an upcoming 5K. But I think that undermining the power of the FTC to protect us from unscrupulous advertisers by making the unilateral decision that they can adopt a product description that is not true is a seriously not-okay tack, and that it is more important to convey that message than indulge my personal shoe preferences.

A real American company follows American rules. They should have spent the court costs promoting their involvement with the American worker rather than trying to get around American rules. I would have been a devoted customer for life.

China sends us poison baby formula, lead in the paint of children's toys and sheet rock that is poisoning our homes…. So how is this good for the American people? We get sick and die and the CEO’s get 200 million dollar bonuses.

That money belongs to the SHARE holders NOT THE CEO. If the CEO should get a 200 million dollar bonus it should be voted on by the share holders!!!

Yes, but they aren't lying about the parts of cars not made in the USA. This is about mislabeling your product, not how righteous someone feels they are so they can be allowed to falsely advertise.

This is about mislabeling your product, not how righteous someone feels they are so they can be allowed to falsely advertise.

every pair of NB's I've bought comes with an explanation detailing what NB means by "made in the USA." and guess what? The information that they might be 70% made here is no surprise to me at all because it's very clearly explained on the tag.

don't take my word for it, go to a shoe store and check it out.

You are missing the point. Explaining why you are mislabeling a product is still mislabeling it by law.

this is what it says on the inside of that tag they show in the article:

Twenty-five percent of New Balance shoes sold in North America are produced by our US workforce using US and imported materials. When possible, we obtain materials from domestic suppliers. At times, due to availability, economic or quality reasons, there is a need to import components from foreign sources. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we have labeled the shoe "Made in the USA." Where it falls below 70%, we have qualified the label referencing domestic and imported materials. This determination is based in part on the Federal trade Commission's survey of consumers.

that disclaimer has come with every NB shoe I've bought so far as I can remember.

We had the chance since the early 70s to automate and offset cheap labor. There was inflation caused by printing money for Viet Nam and the cost of money was too high. One thing leads to another, but if we had automated we could turn out shoes by the millions at a good price.

All New Balance has to do is stop labelling their products 'Made in the USA' when the law specifically states that you can't say that if virtually all of your product isn't. 70% of your product is not virtually all. The End.

they could also just ship those manufacturing jobs to china and be done with the whole mess, make better profit in the process like all the others.

no way, NB is a better company and deserves to tell their story even if it doesn't fit the FTC's mold. They're not deceiving anyone.

Who cares. I buy Nike, I like my Sneaks to be made completly by 11 year old Vietnamese kids. Their small hand make nice tight stiches, besides it teaches them a Skill!

Just Do It!

Third party catalogs still state NB shoes as 'made in China' - at least last week a catalog I got did.

Young marketing "jerks" defining Made in America. What deception, lies, scam. I won't be buying New Balance anytime soon.

check the tag on a pair of NB's its all very clearly explained there. There's no deception at all.

also: note that you'll find no such effort on the part of Nike, Reebok, ASICS, Adidas, etc. because NO part of them is made in the US.

I will only buy NB shoes...after having suffered through the poor fitting and short-lived examples from the offshored brands, I always come back. I have no problem at all if there is some foreign material in the shoe as long as it's assembled here.

About the only thing I know that could meet your test would be a horse and buggy.

What products have you found that meet your criteria?

I do not understand what the big deal is. Is it made in America? yes? no?

most of it is, and it's very clearly explained on the shoe.

I read a guy online that was talking about trade imbalance and pointed to New Balance. I told him that I did not think a $700 billion trade imbalance could be cured with shoes. Most of it goes to oil, Chinese products and Japanese cars, a $50 pair of shoes will not do it.

yeah!

now lets all run out and buy a pair of Nikes!

...wait, where are those made?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.

so, not even a little bit made in the US?

oh, ok

Reeboks then!

wait, those are Brittish

ASICS!

-Japanese

Brooks!

-Brittish

Adidas!

-German

you probably were only going to buy the ones made in China anyway.

they seem to make more of their high-end running shoes here.

There's a tag on the tongue of the shoe itself that says "Made in the USA from imported materials"

you can't get any more honest than that.

Well, actually not true. Our stuff may be overpriced, but the vast majority of it is better quality. Now, if you said Japanese, or German products, then your hyperbole might have more substance.....

well,

the tag on the tongue of the shoes I checked yesterday said "made in the USA from imported materials"

so, as long as you say "I make $100k minus $45k" you'd be doing exactly what NB does.

Exactly!! In my area of PA we had a Volkswagen manufacturing plant ( using US parts to make the Volkswagen automobile). After the TEN-YEAR tax break ended, so did the plant. They moved it to another part of the US for more TAX-BREAKS and Mexico. Same plant 2years later--SONY televisions. Manufactured everything on site. Even the picture tube (both flat screen and plasma) TEN-YEAR tax break ended--so did the manufacturing plant. Why is it the American workers/consumers are the only ones who can see what is wrong with this picture? Oh, that's right, we were sold "Down the river" by our POLITICIONS a long time ago. I wonder when NB's TAX-BREAK is up?

Just check out who is making the campaign contributions. Then you know who you are voting for.