Taylors reply to question on packaging

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philw

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Dec 2, 2004
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I sent Taylor an email yesterday telling them that I wasn't pleased with the way they were using the American flag. This is my original email, their reply, and my reply. I have had no further replies from Taylor.

Hello,
Let me first state my extreme displeasure with Taylor having the new Schrade product made in China.
Secondly, I noticed a 127 OT Sheep Horn Trapper on ebay claiming it was from the new Taylor production run. In the photo the box has an American flag on the top of it. If this is the actual packaging that Taylor is using then your are being very deceptive and you will also probably be hearing from the FTC who frowns upon this sort of advertising.
Taylor cutlery should be ashamed of themselves for putting an American flag on something that was made in China!
If the packaging is incorrect then I would suggest you try to shut the ebay sellers down who are marketing it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6528633130

Thank you for your time,
Phillip Whitmore

Dear Sir,

Most of the packaging all looks the same. Some of the Schrade is being made in Japan, China, Taiwan and some is also being made here in the USA. The knives are all correctly marked with country of origin and we are not trying to be deceptive about anything.

Again some patterns of the Schrade line are still USA made. Our company is based out of Tennessee and we do produce knives here.

Thank you for your time and bringing your attention to this matter. If we can help you with anything else let us know.

Sincerely,


Thank you for your reply but it did not clear up my confusion. Is Taylor Cutlery selling product that is made in China or elsewhere that is packaged in a box with an American flag on it? If so then I would suggest dropping the American flag from the packaging. The problem is made worse by using the name from a well known 100 year old cutlery company.
The following is from the FTC's website:

" In addition, USDrives packaged its Chinese-made products in packages that featured the American eagle and the American flag and included the statement "Made in China" only in small print on side or bottom panels of the packages."

This can be found under section 2, Enforcement actions at the following link.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/04/musareport.htm

Taylor Cutlery may not be in violation of the law but it is a misrepresentation to the vast majority of the buying public.

Which Schrade products are being produced in the United States? What other products are being produced in the United States? What percentage of Taylor Cutlery's products are produced in the United States?

Thank you for your time,
Phillip Whitmore
 
It seems Taylor has simply taken off the "Made in USA" type that we placed under the American flags on the "real" Schrade packaging.

(Though it is somewhat ironic that almost all packaging used by Schrade in the later years was printed in, and imported from, China)

Seeing as many, if not most, consumers would still associate the name Schrade and the product Old Timer (or Uncle Henry) with being made in the U.S., it would appear to me that at the least that using the flag in almost the exact same manner as it was by Schrade is nothing short of being a deliberate intent to decieve consumers into being made to believe the knife is domestic.
 
Glad to see you drop in FormerSchradeGuy! We've been missing you around the forum!

I have several XT boxes with the flag print but no "Made in USA" print below it, so maybe the distributor is just using old packing as a prop in the photos on ebay. I don't think Taylor was even aware that any of the "New Generation" knives had shown up there. And they certainly are not responsible for the actions of their distributors/dealers. The listing does state "IMPORTED from CHINA", though. Bold letters. Check item number 6528638364.

I hope you will post here more often. There are many questions asked that us collectors can only guess at.

Codger
 
Good going, Phil. Excellent writing.
FormerSchradeGuy, it is nice to see you back here. I hope all is well with you.
Phil
 
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