Starrett’s Made in USA Marketing

Starrett – a Massachusetts-based company that supplies precision and hand tools to manufacturing companies – isn’t shy about where its products are purportedly made.

The company claims on its homepage to be “American-Made” and drives home this point with patriotic social media posts, “Proudly Made in USA” labels for many of its products and even a page on its website describing why the company is “synonymous with American Made.”

The only problem? Starrett’s products do not meet the FTC’s standard for Made in USA marketing.

According to the FTC, in order for a product to be marketed as “made” in the USA, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. That is, it must contain “no – or negligible – foreign content.”

In contrast, Starrett states in fine print at the very bottom of its website that its products are made “using globally sourced materials and components,” meaning they are actually assembled in America. Similar clarifying origin information appears under specifications tabs on the product pages for tools that the company markets as “American-Made.”

To be clear: According to the FTC, Made in USA and Assembled in USA mean two different things, even as Starrett conflates the two in an explanation of the criteria it uses when labeling products on its website “Proudly Made in USA.”

We looked into Starrett’s Made in USA claims after receiving a tip about Real American Deals – a website that purportedly highlights American-made products and promoted Starrett as “proudly made in USA.”

Starrett did not respond to a request for comment. After reaching out to Real American Deals, the website removed the Made in USA claim from the company’s listing.

The bottom line

In the past, the FTC has made toolmakers pay for making false Made in USA claims. While companies are free to promote their U.S. assembly operations, they are not allowed to deceptively overstate the amount of manufacturing that takes place domestically.

If buying American-made products is important to you, make sure to check for inconsistencies with a brand’s U.S.-origin claims before making a purchase.

Find more of our coverage on Made in USA.