While it’s no surprise that branded merchandise suppliers are seeing higher demand for “Made-in-USA” products ahead of the United States Semiquincentennial on July 4, one supplier argues the commission behind America250 has fumbled the most important patriotic procurement cycle in 50 years.
- America250 is an official nonpartisan commission initially enacted by Congress in 2016 in preparation to honor the anniversary of America’s independence.
“We operate a retail site at USA250gear.com and business finally started to pick up in early May,” says Mitch Cahn, president of Newark, New Jersey-based supplier Unionwear, which produces American-made baseball caps and tote bags. Unionwear has also specialized in branded merch for political campaigns.
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“The wholesale business for America250 events is really far behind due to mismanagement, inexperience, turnover and politics,” Cahn says.
- Since being established a decade ago, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission has burned through three executive directors and currently doesn’t have a permanent one with less than a month until America’s birthday.
- The commission told Congress that it has received only $25 million of the $100 million it expected from the Trump administration as of April, according to a document obtained by NOTUS.
- Meanwhile, the Interior Department has given at least $68 million in taxpayer funds this year to the parent group of Freedom 250, which champions a similar cause but is more specifically associated with President Trump, NOTUS found.
Although the official federal, state and city events that should be the biggest customers for U.S. manufacturers didn’t even have merchandise buyers in place as of a month ago, Cahn says, corporate America has been ordering “Made-in-USA” America250 merch for nearly a year.
Mitch Cahn
President, Unionwear
“My prediction is that by the time the commission and local organizations get their collective act together, they’ll have a tough time getting domestically made goods and will end up using imported goods,” Cahn says. “I’m assuming that most domestic manufacturers have to be running near capacity right now with the promo business.”
Meeting Demand
Several fellow merch suppliers can attest to Cahn’s belief.
Paterson, New Jersey-based supplier LBU, which specializes in domestic cut-and-sew manufacturing of branded merch, has been experiencing a significant increase in “Made-in-USA” interest.
Domestic production is up over 30% compared to last year, according to Jordan Scaduto, partner and president of LBU. Regarding America250, the firm has been working with private organizations, nonprofits and commercial partners on multiple projects featuring the official celebration logo.
“There’s a renewed focus on supporting American manufacturing, and we’re proud to be part of that movement with our U.S.-based manufacturing platform,” Scaduto says. “Brands are increasingly prioritizing quality, speed-to-market and the ability to tell an authentic ‘Made-in-USA’ story.”
Jordan Scaduto
Partner & President, LBU
Koozie Group, PPAI 100’s No. 4 supplier, reports that “Made in USA” filter usage on its website is up 3x year-over-year. It’s currently the No. 1 filter distributor clients use, followed by “Full Color and “Assembled in USA,” according to Joe Richards, vice president of marketing at Koozie Group.
In honor of Uncle Sam’s birthday bash, the firm has designed red, white and blue Koozie britePix can coolers featuring stars, a “Party Like It’s 1776” treatment and a golden retriever with an American flag. The company offered the first 250 distributors a free three-pack of co-branded can coolers, which were all claimed in under 10 minutes, Richards says.
“America250 co-branding orders are coming in from organizations with almost nothing in common except wanting to celebrate: federal agencies, a century-old community bank, a global business services firm, a rural electric co-op and distributors ordering branded merchandise for their own teams,” Richards says.
“Art proofs are landing early, timed for Independence Day delivery. That lead time is intentional: Organizations aren’t treating this as an afterthought.”
Joe Richards
VP of Marketing, Koozie Group
And for those suppliers who don’t have permission to license the America250 or Freedom 250 logos, that’s where the creativity of the industry truly shines. For example, Raining Rose, PPAI 100’s No. 52 supplier, has developed a Star-Spangled Lip Balm in three “patriotic” flavors: red cherry, white mint and blue berry.
“Our matte/chrome label upgrade helps brands stand out even more, and our sample label features shiny 250 patterned around the label,” says Gina Schladetzky, sales enablement manager of promotional sales at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based manufacturer, which has also seen an increase in “Made-in-USA” interest.
Meanwhile, Hauppauge, New York-based Liqui-Mark, a manufacturer of writing instruments that offers a wide assortment of “Made-in-USA” products, has been working on one large order in particular in which the end user provided their own logo to recognize America’s 250th anniversary.
“We’ve received several requests [for ‘Made-in-USA’] and are using our USA-made Note Writers Felt Tip Pens, as a two-pack set, with custom packaging,” says Josh Goodelman, president and CEO of Liqui-Mark. “Otherwise, we’ve seen a variety of other orders with customer-specific logos for the celebration on other USA-made items, such as highlighters and markers.”
Noah Lee
Founder/CEO, Sock Club
Of course, America250 isn’t the catalyst for “Made-in-America” demand. It has been a buying pattern since the supply chain disruption during COVID and especially in response to the tariff uncertainty of last year, says Noah Lee, founder and CEO of Sock Club, PPAI 100’s No. 30 supplier.
“We’ve been leading with USA-made messaging since last year especially, and the response from distributors has been stronger than we expected,” Lee says. “There’s pride in supporting American manufacturing, but what’s really resonating is the practical upside: avoiding tariffs, better control over minimums and turn times, better quality, more reliability and predictability. We’re able to pass those benefits directly to our clients.”
Merch Leads The Way
Why is the branded merch industry taking the lead on America250? Cahn credits multiple factors, including the historic occasion providing the perfect keepsakes.
“People will keep their America250 merch for a long time,” he says. “Brands know this and see an opportunity to increase the value of their promo investments.”
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Cahn says that items with a visible “Made in USA” label are more popular than items where it’s difficult to see the country of origin, which reduces the value of cobranding. And that’s more important than ever because “consumers don’t care about ‘Made in USA’ as much as companies do.”
After all, brands don’t want to risk associating their logos with “Made in China” for America250 merch. Retailers don’t share that fear because their name isn’t on the product, Cahn explains.
“If Walmart sells an America250 hat that’s made in China, Walmart isn’t going to take a hit,” he says. “I’m basing this on following decades of PR about embarrassing incidents with imported merch. Only brands and political campaigns have been impacted.”
