"Every time you purchase these products, you're paying Ohioans, you're paying for their kids to go to college, you're paying for their houses," said Cathy Horton, who launched "Buy Ohio for the Holidays."
View full sizeA shopper browses the aisles at a Cleveland Heights Walmart in this AP file photo. A coalition of groups is encouraging consumers to buy Ohio-made products first this holiday season.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cathy Horton believes that if Ohio shoppers knew more about what products were made in Ohio, they'd probably buy more of them.
From buying Ohio-grown Dei Fratelli canned tomatoes to sipping Ohio wines, she and other Buckeye State proponents are encouraging consumers to "Buy Ohio for the Holidays."
Buy Ohio, a joint effort of groups including the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Soybean Council, is spotlighting longtime companies such as Hoover, Kroger and Scotts MiracleGro. Launched on Tuesday night, it aims to raise public awareness year-round.
"We want people to buy Ohio (products) first when they're making purchasing decisions," said Beau Euton, vice president of membership for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
"Every time you purchase these products, you're paying Ohioans, you're paying for their kids to go to college, you're paying for their houses," said Horton, founder of Nutek Green cleaning and lubricating products made from Ohio soy plants.
She launched the statewide effort after a similar "Buy NEO" campaign in Solon made her realize that most residents didn't know what companies were based in Solon.
Other buy local efforts include COSE's "I Buy NEO," the City of Lakewood's "Buy Lakewood!" loyalty program, FutureHeights" "Shop Local First," and the Cleveland Independents restaurant group's "Eat.Drink.Local."
Rocky Black, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said there are more than 2,000 Ohio-made products sold at retail stores, and that buying those products is especially critical around the holidays, when stores make most of their sales.
The Taylor Companies of Bedford, a seventh-generation furniture maker founded in 1816, is the oldest company in Ohio and the oldest furniture manufacturer in the United States. "Of 25 million companies in America, only 36 companies are that old," Black said.
Hirzel Canning Co. and Farms, an 89-year-old tomato canning business outside of Toledo, employs about 170 people to grow and process its tomatoes under the Dei Fratelli brand.
"The majority of them are grown within 10 to 20 miles of our facility," said Stephen Hirzel, fourth-generation president. "We can trace our products from the field to our finished products.
"When people buy our tomatoes, they support the people that actually grow and produce these products - and all the dollars stay here," he added.