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Show me SOMETHING that is made inthe USA.

I agree with much of what you're saying, but since you asked the question-
There's this list of Ford and GM automotive factories in the US for a start.
There's also this snippet discussing the effect the many new automobile plants have had on the economy of the southeastern US. I believe some of these plants also produce parts, and don't just import them and slap them together.
Also my favorite shoe brand, New Balance, makes some of its shoes in the USA.
I'm sure there's many more- I'm hoping someone posts something else made in the USA that I don't know about yet!

http://www.newbalance.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Balance#Made_in_USA_.28and_UK.29_stance

Not expensive. Can be found in most shoe stores. Manufacturing is located in the US and UK.

If you have a problem with this, buy new balance:

http://www.newbalance.com/company/committed-to-american-workers/?action=recommendContent&pageID=%2Fcompany%2Fcommitted-to-american-workers%2F%23comment6761&pageTitle=Committed%20to%20American%20Workers

In addition, you can even select shoes by either made in america or assembled in america (less than 60% american content).

So perhaps we need to work with manufacturers to create products and processes that are economically viable in the U.S. Or deal with it and see if a sneaker maker exists in the U.S. And one does. New Balance.

From http://www.newbalance.com/usa/#/factories

Twenty-five percent of New Balance shoes sold in North America are produced by our US workforce using US and imported materials.

Even made in the USA is not guaranteed by the company that advertises as made in the USA.

Ayuh, Nike and Reebok have got the market cornered. Nobody gives a damn about the small, unknown, irrelevant players in the sneaker market.

Yeah - the bags that you can buy "off-the-shelf" at the Apple Store are the Chinese bags. Custom bags are SF-made, as are all the messenger bags (like my Bolo), and their smaller/accessory bags. The iPod cases are made in China, as are the laptop-specific bags. I don't know if the laptop sleeves are made in China nowadays or not, but mine (2+ years old) wasn't.

Even sneaker companies like New Balance have some of their shoes and products made overseas, despite their strong pro-US manufacturing philosophy. The economics are pretty harsh. If you service a mass market, you're likely to send at least some portion of your business overseas - it's a sad reality of a global economy.

The flip side of it is that companies like Timbuk2, New Balance, and others have at least a stated goal to keep as much manufacturing here as feasible, along with the business aspects of the company as well. New Balance employs a lot of people here besides the ones in China, and a good number of the people here are making shoes. I can live with that. And I buy New Balance's shoes.

If anyone is interested in purchasing clothes that weren't made in sweatshops, you have to check out SweatX.net. Right now they're only selling bulk orders (i.e. 144 or more T-shirts with your logo on them) but they hope to sell to the general public soon.

They make all of their garments in Los Angeles, and their workers get paid a living wage, work in comfortable conditions, and have a say in how their company is run.

As far as sweatshop-free athletic shoes, the least of many evils appears to be New Balance - most of their labor is American, they don't spend any money on product endorsements, and they're committed to product quality. Note that they're privately held, not a publicly traded company, which helps to explain why they don't feel pressured to compromise their ideals in exchange for higher profits.

I'd love to hear about other examples of alternatives to sweatshops if anyone knows of them.