FTC: Made In The USA Comments Concerning Steve Matzdorff--P894219
August 4, 1997 Office of the Secretary Dear Mr. Secretary, Enclosed please find copies of correspondence sent to Congresswoman Lucille Roybal- Allard, and Senators Boxer and Feinstein. The nature of the current guidelines governing the "Made in USA" program is just too stringent for companies to legitimately follow. It is my sincere belief that once you have read the content of my letter, you will realize that there is a real problem with the current guidelines. For those few remaining domestic manufacturers, the "Made in USA" moniker has great value. Please do not do anything which will further diminish our ability to compete with the world in our own backyard. Thank you for your time and attention to this problem. Sincerely, Gary's Leather Creations, Inc Steve MatzdorffSteve Matzdorff SM/is CC: LLGMA
August 4, 1997 Via Fax Transmission The Honorable Senator Diane Feinstein - United States Senate Dear Senator Feinstein, I am writing to you today to urge your support of the recently proposed new guidelines to govern the unqualified "Made in USA" origin claims. The compelling reasons have all been stated before. Allow me to give you one example as to how the current guidelines are ridiculous and absurd. My factory in Los Angeles employs 150 people. We manufacture 100% of the finished goods we ship, and my company is one of the few remaining leathergoods manufacturers who can still claim 100% domestic status. That is, until the formula and current guidelines come into play for our Alligator products. In 1978, we were involved in the court case which eventually enabled the State of California, in cooperation with the U.S. government, to allow for the usage of American Alligator. The only problem was, when the US originally placed American Alligator on its endangered species list, those American tanneries who specialized in the tanning and finishing of Alligator skins closed up. As a result, today, most of the raw American Alligator skins are sent to Europe for the kind of high quality specialty tanning necessary to achieve the desired look and finish. But when these American Alligator skins come back into the US, they have undergone a transformation. And, because of this transformation, under the current guidelines, I cannot say that my products are " Made in the USA.” Well, if our 150 employees in our Los Angeles factory make leathergoods, and the skins used comes from a native product only found in the US, what should be more qualified than that? Again, unless the new guidelines are adopted, we can no longer make this claim. In our competitive industry, not being able to make this claim will negatively impact our business. I trust you will see the inequity of the current guidelines I urge you to support the new guidelines and not place further burdens on the domestic manufacturing base. The new guidelines just makes sense! Thank you for your time. Gary's Leather Creations, Inc. Steve MatzdorffSteve Matzdorff
August 4, 1997 Via Fax Transmission (202) 228-3954 The Honorable Representative Lucille Royal--Allard, 33
rd District I am writing to you today to urge your support of the recently proposed new guidelines to govern the unqualified "Made in USA" origin claims. The compelling reasons have all been stated before. Allow me to give you one example as to how the current guidelines are ridiculous and absurd. My factory in Los Angeles employs 150 people. We manufacture 100% of the finished goods we ship, and my company is one of the few remaining leathergoods manufacturers who can still claim 100% domestic status. That is, until the formula and current guidelines come into play for our Alligator products. In 1978, we were involved in the court case which eventually enabled the State of California, in cooperation with the U.S. government, to allow for the usage of American Alligator. The only problem was, when the US originally placed American Alligator on its endangered species list, those American tanneries who specialized in the tanning and finishing of Alligator skins closed up. As a result, today, most of the raw American Alligator skins are sent to Europe for the kind of high quality specialty tanning necessary to achieve the desired look and finish. But when these American Alligator skins come back into the US, they have undergone a transformation. And, because of this transformation, under the current guidelines, I cannot say that my products are "Made in the USA." Well, if our 150 employees in our Los Angeles factory make leathergoods, and the skins used comes from a native product only found in the US, what should be more qualified than that? Again, unless the new guidelines are adopted, we can no longer make this claim. In our competitive industry, not being able to make this claim will negatively impact our business. I trust you will see the inequity of the current guidelines I urge you to support the new guidelines and not place further burdens on the domestic manufacturing base. The new guidelines just makes sense! Thank you for your time. Gary's Leather Creations, Inc. Steve MatzdorffSteve Matzdorff CC: FTC, LLGMA
August 4, 1997 Via Fax Transmission (310) 414-0980 The Honorable Senator Barbara Boxer--United States Senate Dear Senator Boxer, I am waiting to you today to urge your support of the recently proposed new guidelines to govern the unqualified "Made in USA" origin claims. The compelling reasons have all been stated before. Allow me to give you one example as to how the current guidelines are ridiculous and absurd. My factory in Los Angeles employs 150 people. We manufacture 100% of the finished goods we ship, and my company is one of the few remaining leathergoods manufacturers who can still claim 100% domestic status. That is, until the formula and current guidelines come into play for our Alligator products. In 1978, we were involved in the court case which eventually enabled the State of California, in cooperation with the U.S. government, to allow for the usage of American Alligator. The only problem was, when the US originally placed American Alligator on its endangered species list, those American tanneries who specialized in the tanning and finishing of Alligator skins closed up. As a result, today, most of the raw American Alligator skins are sent to Europe for the kind of high quality specialty tanning necessary to achieve the desired look and finish. But when these American Alligator skins come back into the US, they have undergone a transformation. And, because of this transformation, under the current guidelines, I cannot say that my products are "Made in the USA." Well, if our 150 employees in our Los Angeles factory make leathergoods, and the skins used comes from a native product only found in the US, what should be more qualified than that? Again, unless the new guidelines are adopted, we can no longer make this claim. In our competitive industry, not being able to make this claim will negatively impact our business. I trust you will see the inequity of the current guidelines I urge you to support the new guidelines and not place further burdens on the domestic manufacturing base. The new guidelines just makes sense! Thank you for your time. Gary's Leather Creations. Inc Steve MatzdorffSteve Matzdorff CC: FTC, LLGMA |