Made in America? The I-Team finds local Wal-Mart misused label
WILSON, N.C. (WTVD) -- Many Americans specifically look for products boasting a "Made in America" label to support U.S. manufacturing, but when major retailers use the label though, it may be inaccurate.
The ABC11 I-Team took a closer look at some of the items Wal-Mart was advertising as American made and found that they were anything but.
Wilson resident Skyler Strickland headed over to the "Made in America" display at his local Wal-Mart hoping to find some locally-made products. What he found came instead from halfway around the world.
"They had some fans there and I wanted one cause when it was so hot," he said. "I turned the box over to look at the specs on it and says 'Made in China' on the bottom."
He took a few photos and notified Wal-Mart. After a week, he said he only got a canned response.
The I-Team checked out the same Wilson Wal-Mart to see if the "Made in China" fans were still in the 'Made in America' display. They found the fans still for sale, as well as many other products in the display that were not made in the USA.
Fourth of July glow cups, a chalk play set, a bubble making machine and a flying disk were all in the display but all were made in China.
For customers like Strickland, that is disappointing.
"When I see they're trying to pass off a foreign item that's domestically made that's offensive to me," he said.
There were some items on display that were actually made in America, such as coolers and a kid's soccer ball.
When we reached out to Wal-Mart, they corrected the problem right away and sent this statement:
"Walmart always strives for 100% accuracy. The store posted the signs for coolers and paper goods made in America, and we didn't do a very good job of taking the signs down as new products filled the shelves. The bottom line is that our customers want transparency and authenticity, and we're going to give them that."
If you want to be sure where the products you buy are coming from, be sure to check the labels. That's what Skyler says he'll do.
"Just be careful to check the labels and make sure that it's what it's supposed to be," he said.
