The words 'Made in Canada' on products are hard to find these days, not impossible, but hard.
Call me a nationalist, but I try to employ my neighbours when exercising my purchasing power. My husband and I finally took the plunge recently and bought a couch at Barrymore to last us until our 50th wedding anniversary. The best part about it was that it’s manufactured not 10 km from my home. Even the men who delivered the sofa work for the company and treated that couch with the respect it deserved.
Curtains for the master bedroom are next on my list, but replicating the couch purchase for ready-made-drapes is proving impossible. I can find cosmetics, toiletries and local fashion such as Cake and Fresh Collective - but it’s difficult finding home décor products made on this side of the Pacific.
If I could sew, life would be dandy, but the last time I made curtains, an elderly neighbour examined them and exclaimed, “Dear, they’re beautiful! Here, let me take them home and fix them.” And she did. They still hang in my daughter’s bedroom.
There are several websites devoted to “Made in Canada” products, but only one had a good search function. Buy Canadian First, started in 2008 by Isabelle Remy and her husband Pascal, showcases consumer goods made in Canada, covering all segments of the market from clothing to furniture, toys to sports equipment. Their intent is not to exclude international trade since they love olive oil, coffee and chocolate, but they wanted to “educate consumers on the availability of products made in Canada.”
Unfortunately, the website lacks a good home décor section, particularly “Window Treatments” which currently has zero results. I emailed the site to see if they did know of any stores selling made in Canada curtains. They replied that Sears Canada does, but the curtains I liked were, you guessed it, made in China.
Undaunted, I tried Really Made in Canada. The site is hard to navigate and needs a better search function but I finally discovered the directory and clicked on the “Window Coverings” link. The only result listed a company in Alberta that makes blinds, not curtains. Since the site advocates using local resources, I did get results when I typed in “Toronto” and “drapes.” Custom curtains are expensive but I may well end up employing a neighbour and getting exactly what I want.
Read the Competition Bureau’s regulations for “Product of Canada” here.
Do you search for Made in Canada products?
Original Article
Source: moneyville
Author: Peggy Mackenzie
Call me a nationalist, but I try to employ my neighbours when exercising my purchasing power. My husband and I finally took the plunge recently and bought a couch at Barrymore to last us until our 50th wedding anniversary. The best part about it was that it’s manufactured not 10 km from my home. Even the men who delivered the sofa work for the company and treated that couch with the respect it deserved.
Curtains for the master bedroom are next on my list, but replicating the couch purchase for ready-made-drapes is proving impossible. I can find cosmetics, toiletries and local fashion such as Cake and Fresh Collective - but it’s difficult finding home décor products made on this side of the Pacific.
If I could sew, life would be dandy, but the last time I made curtains, an elderly neighbour examined them and exclaimed, “Dear, they’re beautiful! Here, let me take them home and fix them.” And she did. They still hang in my daughter’s bedroom.
There are several websites devoted to “Made in Canada” products, but only one had a good search function. Buy Canadian First, started in 2008 by Isabelle Remy and her husband Pascal, showcases consumer goods made in Canada, covering all segments of the market from clothing to furniture, toys to sports equipment. Their intent is not to exclude international trade since they love olive oil, coffee and chocolate, but they wanted to “educate consumers on the availability of products made in Canada.”
Unfortunately, the website lacks a good home décor section, particularly “Window Treatments” which currently has zero results. I emailed the site to see if they did know of any stores selling made in Canada curtains. They replied that Sears Canada does, but the curtains I liked were, you guessed it, made in China.
Undaunted, I tried Really Made in Canada. The site is hard to navigate and needs a better search function but I finally discovered the directory and clicked on the “Window Coverings” link. The only result listed a company in Alberta that makes blinds, not curtains. Since the site advocates using local resources, I did get results when I typed in “Toronto” and “drapes.” Custom curtains are expensive but I may well end up employing a neighbour and getting exactly what I want.
Read the Competition Bureau’s regulations for “Product of Canada” here.
Do you search for Made in Canada products?
Original Article
Source: moneyville
Author: Peggy Mackenzie
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