Electronic Dental Hygiene is not American-Made by Barbara L. Steinberg
Well, it finally happened. Day 21 of the New Year found me facing my first challenge to shop 366 days (this is a Leap Year) of Made in the USA.
My Sonicare toothbrush died! R.I.P. old friend. It was a long time coming since I can't even remember how many years I had that appliance. But enough of that. While I am able to justify not buying new shoes or maybe that bitchin' new shirt, the whole dental hygiene thing really has to be addressed. I can say I have seen first-hand how my Sonicare improved my dental check-ups over the years. And now enough of that!
How many brands of electric toothbrushes are there in the world? Probably not too many, but I can tell you this none of them are Made in the USA. While I admire the longevity of my Sonicare toothbrush, but my brand loyality in this arena comes down to this: The price! That's it. If the toothbrush was Made in the USA that would be my first consideration, followed by: The price! I'm guessing if there was an electric toothbrush currently manufactured in the USA, it would cost mucho dinero.
So there I am at Costco on the electric rechargeable toothbrush aisle. OMG! You can't buy just one toothbrush. Oh, no! They come in two-packs, three-packs, with one spare head, three spare heads, and tons of packaging. (That's my other big gripe. How much packaging do you need? And where is that made?) At Costco I think you have two brand options: Oral-B and Philips Sonicare. So back to my criteria: (1) Made in the USA -- that would neither of these. And (2) The price! I did not want or need three toothbrushes. And I didn't want to spend more than $100! Seriously! So that eliminated Philips right off the bat. But I was still concerneed about where the products were made.
You'd almost for certain assume Made in China. While I don't want to be responsible for the decline of jobs and economy in China -- after all I do have a heart and there are people involved -- but I have been resisting the Made in China purchases for a long time. This would be my third consideration following the price. If it's not Made in the USA and I don't want Made in China, how many other choices are there? Time will tell.
Costco had an Oral-B two-pack electric toothbrush with three toothbrush heads. Naturally this toothbrush was not Made in the USA. And surprisingly, it also wasn't Made in China. The toothbrush itself was made in Germany and the storage case in the Czech Republic. Have hope, it's distributed Proctor Gamble out of Cinncinati, Ohio. Asking price was $99 but there was an automatic manufacturer's rebate of $20! Score and out the door!
Okay, that wasn't too painful. Less than a month into this 366 days of Made in the USA I made it over the hurdle. None the worse for wear, but a bit of a sting. More to come, I'm sure.
I just found this post after googling "Sonicare Made in USA." Reason being that I just received a new Sonicare for Christmas, and it says "Made in China." A huge disappointment considering the Sonicare I bought from Costco ONLY 4 YEARS AGO says "assembled in the USA" right on the bottom. Such a shame to have lost another product to China. It was not even expensive when it was made in the USA...
Congrats on going a year, it's a challenging journey!
If you're intersted, I have a 'made in the USA' site: http://www.50built.com
Posted by: Brian Lindstrom | 12/30/2012 at 07:04 AM
Yes, a shame that we have given away all of our manufacturing....for the most part. I am continuing my Made in the USA journey as much as possible. I have met so many wonderful people working to make and sell American products. It sometimes makes shopping more difficult but I have found it more interesting and satisfying.
Posted by: Barbara L. Steinberg | 01/15/2013 at 08:22 AM
along this line, Colgate toothpaste is Made in America!
Posted by: Mengo Darr | 04/08/2013 at 09:00 AM