One industry where it is increasingly difficult to buy American made is the apparel industry. Popular high-quality shirt makers such as Ralph Lauren make none of their shirts in the United States. Others, such as Land's End, make some of their shirts in the U.S., but can no longer guarantee your order will be filled with an American-made shirt even if you request one since both domestic and foreign factories make the same identical styles. It is solely for this reason that I don't order from Land's End anymore.

Luckily I found PattonShirts.com so that I can start replacing my fading casual dress shirts. I have already placed and received my first order, and I can tell without a doubt that these shirts are the finest you'll find anywhere.

All Patton shirts are made in North Carolina at the Pine Island plant with fabric from 100% American-grown cotton. You just can't get any more American than that. Once I held one of their 100% cotton shirts in my hands, I knew I was about to be wear the most comfortable shirt I had ever put on.

Owner Ed Patton (no relation to the colorful and historical General Patton) has designed his shirts for the "Man in Command," and each shirt comes with an attractive and intricately designed tank logo. The tank logos, as well as the shirts themselves, are available in several colors. A woman's line of shirts is on the way so the "Woman in Command" can have her own collection of these wonderful American-made shirts too.

With many larger companies, American and foreign-owned alike, moving their manufacturing offshore, it is increasingly becoming apparent that smaller companies that value American patriotism are going to save the day in many of these hard-hit industries. Although we don't like seeing American workers at larger companies being laid off, it doesn't mean that we can't support other American workers who often work for smaller companies. These are the companies that enjoy going against the tide of what many free-trade economists tell us is a logical progression of the global economy.

The hardest part is finding these smaller companies since they are usually web-based and don't have the financial clout of a Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger. What they do have is a greater appreciation of what America is all about and the desire to keep America prosperous and independent by producing in America so the consumer can buy American made.

That is certainly true of the people at PattonShirts.com, and is all the more reason why they deserve our support as patriotic consumers. As Charley Reese titled one of his many great nationally syndicated columns, endorsing this author's book, "The best way to keep America's ship sailing is to buy American." He also said "America is our ship, and we need to work together to keep her sailing." So let's all work together to support the products of companies like PattonShirts.com and leave all those foreign-made shirts to rot on the store shelves. If we do that, there isn't a trade policy any government can devise that can defeat such a united consumer strategy, and America's ship will keep sailing for many years to come.

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