SHOPPING Buying American is not an easy task

Local residents are having a tough time finding American-made gifts this Christmas .
By VERONICA GORLEY
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Eileen Crawford wanted to send a Christmas gift to the newborn baby of her friend in Austria.
Her mission was simple: To find something made in America. She scoured every department of Babies "R" Us -- Levi's, Carter's, OshKosh B'Gosh -- but nothing in the store was made in America. Nothing.
"Everything used to be made here," the Boardman resident recalled. "I'm so disappointed it's so difficult to find something made in the USA. It's a rarity nowadays."
Like some local shoppers this holiday, Crawford said she is more conscientious of buying American-made products since Sept. 11. Finding such products is a different story entirely, however.
"It's hard to find American things," said Pat Schauweker, 68, of Boardman. "It really is."
Virginia Beny, 83, of Canfield buys American products when she can.
"If something I want is American, I'll buy it before I buy a foreign item," Beny said.
Though she has always tried to buy American, she says she's been more aware of where products are made since the terrorists attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Similarly, Robert Harris of Beaver Falls, Pa., said he is more conscientious of buying American-made goods now, and he has noticed that many patriotic items are not made in America.
"I think it sucks," he said plainly.
Retailers' reality: Local retailers are confronted with the fact that many of their products aren't made in the United States.
Mark Bicsak, manager of the Made On Earth kiosk in the Southern Park Mall, said that since Sept. 11, more people are interested in where his products are produced. Though the wood products he sells are crafted in the United States, the olive wood is imported, he said.
"People have had problems with the olive wood," Bicsak said. "It reminds them of a foreign country."
Mark Stoner, who manages two Plantation Pottery kiosks in the Southern Park Mall, sells ties, shirts and other items, some of which are patriotic.
"Some people are asking for American-made goods," Stoner said. "I carry both."
He said he points out to customers the patriotic shirts he sells that were made in the United States, but many American-made goods are more expensive than other products.
"Ninety percent of the products in the world are made overseas," Stoner said. "We'd love to sell American-made products."
He also added that many shoppers aren't concerned where products are made this late in the Christmas-shopping game.
Stephanie Wilson and Alexis Stewart, both 17-year-olds from Youngstown, checked the tags on the clothes they just purchased. Only one of the three items was made in America.
"I don't bother looking," Wilson admitted.
Brian McCombs, 29, of New Middletown, has bought a flag since Sept. 11, but he said he has no idea where it was manufactured.
"I usually don't pick something up and see if it's made in China or something like that," McCombs added.
World economy: On the other hand, some area residents find merit in buying foreign products.
"They come over here and spend their money, and we go there and spend our money," said Carvell Cecil, 26, of Austintown. "Where products come from doesn't matter."
Glenn Tohm, 66, of Boardman said he buys American if he can, but he realizes how difficult it is in today's global economy.
"We sell to them; they sell to us," Tohm explained. "If we don't buy from them, they don't buy from us. Anymore, it's a world economy."
As for the American-made Christmas gift Crawford was seeking for her friend's baby in Austria, she just cut off the tag that said where the outfit was made.