Aug 16, 2008

‘Made in Canada’ gains cachetBy Daniel DroletCanada.com

High oil prices and increased environmental awareness are combining to change our shopping habits and the origin of goods available in stores.

Not only are Canadian-made goods more popular and more affordable, but there’s some evidence that consumers are starting to shop closer to home.

The trend to Canadian-made goods is much in evidence at the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association’s fall trade show in Toronto this week, where 52 per cent of retailers polled said they plan to increase the number of Canadian-made products in their stores, compared with only 34 per cent of the same opinion last year.

Consumers’ attachment to all things Canadian appears to be increasing as foreign-made goods lose some of their price advantage and high oil prices drive up the cost of shipping.

The trade show, which is held twice each year, is the largest of its kind in Canada and points to trends in the $10-billion Canadian giftware industry. It draws some 22,000 retail buyers — the people who decide what goods will be on store shelves in the coming months.

And increasingly, those people want to sell us goods made at home.

“People are looking for Canadian-made,” said Erica Kirkland, editor of Retail News, the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association’s publication. “That’s what our research is telling us.”

Kirkland said there’s no one reason why Canadian-made goods are increasing in popularity.

Read complete article.