e just finished up the biggest shopping season of 2011 and now are optimistically headed into a brand new year. Did you concentrate on buying gifts for family and friends that were produced in the USA? The statistics are alarming - reporting that approximately 98% of the clothing we buy is made overseas.

You may have started to hear of the challenges being made nation wide to buy American. This article in the San Clemente Journal talks about a recent segment on World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer that challenges its viewers to furnish their homes with products that are made in the USA. I have seen other such programs including one that allowed us viewers to follow the whole re-model of a home. The family was successful with most of the items but had a difficult time finding a microwave oven made here. They ended up compromising and getting a unit that was assembled here

but no oven could be found that was completely manufactured in the US. Now this was more than a year ago and I am hoping that has changed since.

It is not a secret that it is a difficult task to shop around for quality products that are made in America. It can also add a significant window of time to your shopping experience but it is worth it.

Many Online Shopping sites will advertise that the products in their store are made in the USA and you can sometimes check with your local news outlets to see if they have a list of stores that offer American-made goods. If you live here in Southern California, you can scan the San Clemente Journal's feature article for a few stores that make the effort and carry great quality for a good price.

We would love to have a list of stores for our readers to access so everyone could work together and make a strong effort to Buy American. If you have found some good resources, please comment here and let us know. I will start it off by listing a directory site myself - MadeinUSAForever. I look forward to hearing from you.