Think of the last time you bought something, whether it be clothing, electronics or accessories. Did you check to see where it was made? For about five years, sophomore Matthew “Matt” McDonald has been buying his clothes from cafepress.com, a website that ensures a fair price for its products. The website shows in which country each piece of clothing was made, and this allows McDonald to hunt for the label “Made in America.”

“My older brother was very conscious (about where products were made) growing up, and that caused me to look into (it) myself and see if that was something I should be conscious about,” he said.

The consumerism and popularity of American-made goods is on the rise due to more awareness about the benefits purchasing American-made goods can bring to the economy and to the consumer. In 2012, ABC World News launched a full “Made in America” campaign, encouraging the public to buy American by saying that if each person spends only $64 on American-made products, 200,000 jobs could be created that season.

With an outlook similar to that of ABC “World News”, Grey Gordon, economics professor at IU, said one major reason for rising consumerism in American-made goods is that people want to help the economy.

“Buying U.S. products means the wages are going to be local. Whatever portion of the expense going to wages is going to someone in the United States. There’s a direct effect of higher wages for United States workers and indirect effect of profits coming through, like the stock market,” Gordon said. “People want to support the U.S. economy, and they do that by buying U.S. products.”

Likewise, McDonald said if people look only at their own personal budgets and not at what their choices can mean for the rest of the country, then America’s economy will suffer and, in turn, later affect them.

“What’s best for the individual isn’t necessarily best for the society and therefore isn’t always best for the individual in the long run. What people get out of buying cheaper products, they tend to put back in by not strengthening the economy and not moving forward in that regard,” he said.

Although sophomore Matthew “Matt” Klineman is not as avid an American-made shopper as McDonald, he said he still prefers to buy American-made products to strengthen the economy.

“With the hard times that Americans are facing, I think (buying American-made products) helps American businesses, the American employees (and) the American people,” he said.

Consumers are not the only ones participating in the “Made in America” label surge. Big corporations such as Walmart, Apple, General Electric and Brooks Brothers are experimenting with making more products in the United States. According to a 2013 New York Times article, Walmart claims it will invest $50 billion in the next decade.

In order to explain why more American companies are choosing to bring manufacturing back home, Amanda Michaud, economics professor at IU, said rising labor and production costs overseas have made it more practical to keep the jobs in the United States.

“Part of the story lies in costs of production abroad. Labor costs in China have risen by an estimated 20 percent in the past four years,” she said via email. “Firms are relocating jobs both back to the United States and to other countries partly for this reason.”

Gordon said he agrees, saying that especially for products that are heavy and expensive to ship, it would make sense that manufacturers are choosing to avert those shipping costs and make the product right at home.

American manufacturers have more of a reputation to keep up with than foreign manufacturers do, according to Gordon. He said he believes another reason why consumers are also buying American-made products is that they have better quality.

“If you purchase from a non-U.S. company, it’s anonymous. The anonymous company does not have much to lose if it uses low-quality materials while the American company might have more of a reputation at home so they’ll put more effort into making better quality things,” he said.

McDonald said, however, that quality isn’t a big deal to him.

“I’m buying it because it promotes good working conditions and the economic benefits,” he said. “I haven’t seen a significant difference in quality.”

Like McDonald, Klineman said while he hasn’t personally noticed a difference in quality, he believes Americans trust the quality of American-made products more.

“People here recognize that China’s products can be cheaply made, and because of that, people tend to view American products as sturdier and more durable,” he said.

McDonald said he also believes patriotism has played its part in the thirst for home-made goods. Public examples support his claim. Last summer when ABC World News revealed that the 2012 U.S. Olympic uniforms by designer Ralph Lauren were made in China, the public was outraged.

Klineman said he understands why this shocked so many people.

“I think it’s really ironic that American flags and American uniforms are made in China,” he said.

McDonald said, “Generally, as Americans, our sense of nationalism and pride is growing as well as becoming more conscious about civil rights issues and about the condition of our economy. I think all of those factors are contributing to people more conscious about buying American-made products. In general, (buying American-made) promotes just a healthier society and a more thriving nation.”