FAQs

How do I use the site to look up country of origin?
You can use the Quick Search bar if you know the product details like the brand name or the product name or code. If you want to see a fuller choice of products, or products from a particular country, then go to the Product Menu and choose a category. You’ll get easy-to-navigate choices from there to lead you to the type of product you’re looking for. You can choose to display the results by brand or by country of origin by clicking on the long rectangular 'sort by' buttons at the top of the screen.

How do I see where products come from?
The Results Section will tell you, and the integrated Google Maps application will show you at least the country itself, and for many entries also the location of the town or city where the factory is located. You can then use the zoom function to go closer in on the town if you like, and sometimes see the factory itself for the product you're searching for.

How do you find out where things are from?
We try to research every product ourselves. That way we know exactly what the manufacturers are claiming about it. We also do more research on the net, and cross-check as much of our information as we can with retailers and manufacturers.

How can I get involved?
If you are 18 or over, you can sign on as a contributor and start submitting the origins of all the products you personally own that you’ve bought in the last year. If you like seeing your information on the site you could involve your family and friends, and get data from them and enter that. If you’re interested in phones, or trainers, or car stereos, for example, why not research these products in shops too and become an expert on them? (If you’re under 18, you can participate as part of a school project. Look in the Education section for more details.) you can also submit products to the Facebook groups, eg Made In USA#, tweet them to the Twitter page, or use the Contact Us form to send them on an e-mail.

Why should I get involved?
You might like the idea of helping create the world's first country of origin resource for consumer goods. You might want to buy products from your country if you think more localised manufacturing is the best way to go. You might agree that outsourcing went too far and we need to re-establish a manufacturing basis in most Western countries.

Where do I sign up?
Go to the Register/Log-in section, through the button next to this one on the top menu bar. As usual, there’s a terms and conditions statement that sets out all the things you have to agree to before you sign up.

Do you recommend which countries’ products to buy or not buy?
No, we don’t. There are lots of other sites that do though, and for lots of different reasons, so there’s plenty of places to get advice. We just concentrate on giving you the most reliable information we can on country of origin so you can make your own choices.

How do I query the origin of a product?
You can use the forum on Facebook, tweet us a query, or send us an e-mail. We will then have a look at it again. We are quite rigorous and most items are checked more than once, but occasionally there’ll be a need for a correction.

We hope you enjoy using the site and will drop by again soon!