Patti came home with this cup the other day:

She bought it at the Starbucks in San Mateo.  I flipped it over and of course, it said, “Made in China”. 

“But, I wanted a plastic glass with a straw in it”, she said. “And where I am going to find one that is made in America?” 

After we discussed it, I thought for sure that Starbucks, with their in-store emphasis on American Jobs

would certainly have cups that were “Made in America”. http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=581

Patti called me this last Sunday morning from the same Starbucks store.  She was emphatic and actually a little upset. 

“Everything in this store is made outside of the U.S.!  How can they do that when they are selling wristbands for $5 telling people that we need to create American jobs?”.  I too was a little taken aback at that thought as I am trying to do my part to be an American helping Americans create jobs. So I went to check it out myself.  Patti was right all this stuff is made outside of the United States, mostly in China.

While it my responsibility, not Starbucks, for me to influence with my wallet on what is important, I do think that there is something missing in the equation when there is a call to us as consumers to be helping them create jobs in America then they, with the largest influence of purchasing power, choose suppliers supporting just the opposite.  I wonder how many jobs they could create if they were to move their suppliers to all American made?  I don’t want to be cynical, but it does feel a little like we are being sucked in. Am I off base here?