Thank you for shopping at Stuffed Ark.  We want you to know
some of our thoughts on one of the great issues of our time.

The short answer is, "No, our stuffed animals are imported, just like almost all of the stuffed animals sold in America".

But let's think about the question for a moment.

Stuffed Ark is a web store, a small business with four web sites. In the days before the Internet, my wife and I would have been shopkeepers operating a toy store on Main Street.

Sandy and I are Americans. My family and I have proudly served in combat in every American war from the Revolution to Viet Nam.

Our employees are all Americans. Together we care for our American families with what we earn at Stuffed Ark.

Our UPS and USPS shipping crews are all Americans. They drive American trucks and work in American shipping terminals serving our American customers.

Our vendors and wholesalers are Americans from Florida to Maryland to Ohio and California. They employ the American designers and artists who conceive our stuffed animals. They have thousands of American employees working in American offices and warehouses and using American shippers. Similarly, American longshoremen working at American seaports are moving merchandise from ships to American trucks headed for American warehouses.

Manufacturing is only one part of the complex commercial process of making a stuffed animal available for you to buy. Most of the labor and capital committed to the process is American. For every dollar spent on a Stuffed Ark animal, less than a quarter will find its way out of the United States, and much of that pays for the imported fuel used to ship all wholesale and retail merchandise inside the United States. More than 75% is collected by American businesses like ours, devoted to serving American consumers and American workers.

If you ever do find an "American made" stuffed animal, be sure to ask where the materials used to construct the animal were made (America imports most of its textiles), where the sewing machines in the stuffed animal factory came from (America imports most new sewing machines), and whether the workers in the stuffed animal factory are properly documented Americans.

Most of our merchandise is imported because American consumers have voted with their wallets in favor of lower cost and higher quality. There are no longer any American stuffed animal manufacturers able to supply the wants and needs of our customers. If you know of any, tells us about them. "Manufactured in America" would be a great thing.

Meanwhile, remember all of the Americans working in transportation, wholesale trade, retail trade, and hundreds of supporting businesses. Remember the American communities where we live and the taxes that we pay. We made your stuffed animal available for you to purchase.

And consider the computer monitor that you are looking at, the shoes on your feet, the fuel used to bring groceries to your town, etc. All are partially or entirely of non-US origin.

Unless one is a hermit on a mountain top, it is no longer possible to live a thoroughly "American made" life. Is this a good thing? Well, I don't know. But it is the truth. It is reality.

Meanwhile, my American wife and I, along with our American helpers, will continue to serve our American customers. We look forward to your support.

Bill & Sandy Chickering
Stuffed Ark Corporation