Strollers and Car seats and deceptive/sneaky labeling

Trampslikeus · January 2015

Uppababy advertises themselves as an American company - but according to several websites, the strollers are actually made in China.

Peg Perego stamps "made in Italy" on one part of their strollers (i think the seat cushion) but the rest ... made in China.

BOB ... made in China.

But the only way to get that information is to look for blogs from people who have written letters to these companies.   The websites either leave out that information completely, or say it in vague, deceptive ways like "DESIGNED in Italy" (not the same as made there, obviously)

I know the safety standards are the same no matter where they're made, but for ethical reasons, we try to buy most of our stuff - especially big ticket items - from companies that pay fair wages and don't rely on child labor.    There seems to be a very clear "American Made" choice for nearly everything EXCEPT strollers and car seats.

I've been googling for over an hour and can't seem to find anything consistent, reliable, and up-to-date on strollers and car seats that are not made in China. The one clear exception seems to be Stokke - but those are unfortunately out of our price range.    Have any of you found any verified, reliable info on this?   Or know of any US/UK based manufactured general baby products you recommend?

eshap90 · January 2015

Recarro proride is assembled in the us. That was the best I could find. The ratings were high and I like it. My mom found a bob stroller at an rei sale for $180 instead of $400. It is made in China which I was disappointed to find out but I could not find a stroller of quality made in the US. I've been buying lots of used baby clothes because the old stuff is made in the usa.

AmyCee · January 2015

Unfortunately it's difficult to make a profit when manufacturing in the United States - or generally in non-Asian countries. My husband and I tried to move our factories here and what we had to charge for our products made it impossible. However, if it is a reputable company they likely have child labor laws and abide by them - we visit our factories with little to no notice to make sure.

Anyway, it sucks! I have started borrowing more or buying used...I'm even keeping my 5 year old strollers instead of getting the newer model.

I wish it were better for American workers!

poppyc8 · January 2015

Our peg perego car seat is made in Italy. I love it. The only downside is that for some reason it didn't have a Canadian aviation sticker on it only had European and Usa so when we flew from Usa to Canada the airline made us check the car seat.

Trampslikeus · January 2015

@eshap90 Thanks for the suggestion - unfortunately I looked up the Recaro and it specifically says not recommended for small cars (which we have) - bummer.

@AmyCee Seriously. Thats why we try to give our money to those companies who are treating workers here well and/or starting small local businesses, but its definitely not easy

Trampslikeus · January 2015

Sorry, @poppyc8 - Peg Perego was one of the brands that has deceptive labeling. They make ONE part in Italy (the frame). The rest is made in China. So they put a nice big "made in Italy" label on the one part that is, and teeeeny tiny, hard to find "made in China" labels on the rest:

https://www.madeinusablog.org/2009/01/26/shopping-for-made-in-usa-strollers/comment-page-1/#comments

Better than nothing, but still not great, and I don't like the intentionally sneaky labeling.

poppyc8 · January 2015

@Trampslikeus‌ I don't have the stroller but the car seat is made in Italy.

KonaCoffeeBean · January 2015

I am humbled by you ladies who are doing your research ahead of time. I'm such a horrible procrastinator that I'll probably end up stopping by Target on my way to the hospital and shelling out and $800 for a car seat that's upholstered in Dalmatian pelts

Trampslikeus · January 2015

hahaha @konacofeebean I am the worst of the worst when it comes to procrastinating, but my mom and aunts are going in on the stroller/car seat combo together and asked me what I wanted... was hoping to catch some post-Holiday sales so they get a deal on the stuff, but it seems the pricier ones don't go on sale much.

JoJo1111 · January 2015

I have a clek foonf car seat that is made in Canada. Only catch is that clek does not make an infant carrier only a convertible car seat. I think some britax car seats are made in USA. It is so hard to buy only North American/ European products!

Courts03 · January 2015

Unfortunately Britax is no longer made in the US, I read the same MadeinUSA blog and when I was doing research I had read that Costco's car seat(not for infants I believe) are made in the US unless that has changed as well

CBHoneyB · January 2015

Evenflos products are mostly made in the Us, more specifically Ohio.

nicnnatesmom · January 2015

We have the recaro. I have put that thing in my SIL small dodge Dakota. And even my moms Volkswagen bug. I will say in the bug I had to climb into the back seat with him to get him in and out. Which was a pain. But the seat fit with out any issues. And he was behind the drivers seat and I had no issues with being squished or anything.

deutschbaby · January 2015

Britax is assembled in North Carolina. They are a British company though (parent company is Britax International).

I'm a CPST (car seat tech), and from a safety standpoint I don't have any qualms about any car seat that currently meets the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (or the ECE 344, European standards for those moms using car seats in the EU). I understand your ethical issues though. From an economic standpoint though, bringing manufacturing back to the USA doesn't really help the economy advance though. Laws of comparative advantage and all that...

But yes, Recaro and Britax are assembled in the USA. I believe Dorel Juvenile Group (owns safety first, cosco, etc) is also coming out with a new seat assembled in the USA. I'll have to dig through my email.

deutschbaby · January 2015

We will be getting the Britax B-safe 35 Elite Infant car seat (won't be released until late February 2015) for this baby if anyone is wondering. I have no qualms about Britax International's labor practices, and from a safety & labor relations standpoint they are a company I trust.

We also looked at the Cybex Aton Q+ infant seat. The foot prop is an amazing added safety feature, but the Britax Elite offered similar safety features, with a few additional ease of use features we were looking for. I believe Cybex's headquarters is located in Bayreuth, Germany. I believe the seats are made in China though.

Trampslikeus · January 2015

The britax car seats are assembled in the US but the strollers are made in China, confirmed by my email to their customer service. From my emailing and scoping it doesn't seem like there's a single stroller made in the US. Makes paying for the fancy ones seem silly now - they probably all come out of the same few factories.

dkleid · January 2015

Personally, while it would be nice to have all of my baby product made within the US, we dont have Millions to shell out for the best of the best. As long as it passes all of the laws and regulations set by the US thats good enough for me.

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