Hey all,
Recently I’ve been trying to work on purchasing more products made here in Canada as opposed to down south or overseas, reason being to help decrease my environmental footprint, as well as to keep my money supporting businesses based in Canada, especially with the tariffs that might be coming in the near future.
I was curious if there were some good tips to help find products made within our borders. Some stuff has been easy, like swapping from Silk to Earth’s Own for example due to labeling on the package that states where the product was manufactured, but other stuff is a bit of a pain since it doesn’t seem to indicate where the product is manufactured or at the very least if it was imported, just where the company’s head office is located.
While my main concern is with groceries since I’ve been trying to purchase more second-hand as of late, I was curious as to what some good all-around tips are for finding Canadian products. I’m willing to spend a little more if needed, I prefer to bank my money in my morals and not in convenience.
Since you mentioned Silk and Earth’s Own, I’m going to assume that you’re vegetarian or vegan. If not, consider going plant-based as it would reduce your carbon footprint even if you’re eating imported food.
That said, it’s great that you’re buying second-hand!
I’d also suggest keeping an open mind about buying products that are built to last and/or with repairability in mind. That way, even if you have to buy something new, you can keep it out of the landfill for longer.
When I’m looking for Made in Canada products, the ease at which I find them will often depend on what it is. For bike stuff, I’ve been lucky that we have quite a few companies who make bike bags in the country (Atwater, Arkel, etc.), and even bike trailers (like the Wike company out of Guelph).
Most non-electric items can be found as Made in Canada, and I’ll tend to simply do a search during my research of any new products.
The website “Made in CA” (https://madeinca.ca/) would be a good link to bookmark, even though they don’t cover EVERY company or product.