Buying American at an Affordable Price
Matt Fischetti Athletic Appeal is saving American jobs while saving Americans money
By Jim Palmer
March 14, 2007

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Fischetti. A modern day American Patriot who operates a web site at AthleticAppeal.com Matt may not agree with my assessment, but the reason I call him an American Patriot is that he is on a mission to not only sell 100% American Made Clothing, but American Made clothing at an affordable price. Ok enough of my words. Let's read about what Matt has to say.

Matt, who are you and why did you start Athletic Appeal?

I am originally from Long Island, New York. I moved to Philadelphia a few years ago and became a Union Steamfitter for Local 420. My wife and I had our first baby six months ago, and we decided to start a new business to help with some of the finances. I have always felt very strongly about buying American and Union made items, as well as supporting our country and its work force. I wanted to give a little back by offering Made in the USA clothing at low prices. I have worked very hard to create a store that offers a large selection of products for the whole family at affordable prices. I feel that we all need to work together to support America and each other, especially in light of September 11th and the current war in Iraq.

When did you open Athletic Appeal?

We started taking our orders the first week of January 2007, most of which have been from word of mouth. Business has been going very well, it seems as though many people wish to purchase American made clothing, but haven't had the option to do so at reasonable prices. Some clients of mine have told me that they actually stopped looking at the tags on the garments, since all they could find were products made overseas. I am striving to change that, and bring American made clothing to the front of the line again with a better selection and more variety at a lower cost. I also feel that it is time that union made clothing became more affordable and better available to the general public. It is important to me to know that the people making my clothes are making a decent wage and that my clothes are made sweatshop free.

Are all of the products at Athletic Appeal Made in the USA? Why do you think that is important?

All of our products are manufactured 100% sweatshop-free Made in the USA, and half of the store is Union made in the USA and on the mainland USA. I feel that we should support each other first and foremost, not only for the disposable goods that we use everyday, but for the items that mean a lot to us as well. I know many people who have had their jobs outsourced to other countries because it was cheaper than paying a worker a decent wage in the United States. There also seems to be too many factories that have shut down because their work was underbid by overseas factories and sweatshops. America has always succeeded because we have been highly self-sufficient. I think it is important that we do not rely too heavily on imported products because if we do, it'll be the death of our economy and great nation.

Some consumers believe that Made in America means spending more money for lower quality merchandise. Do you think that is a myth and if so why?

For quite some time now, Americans have been unimpressed with the quality and cost of certain items made domestically. The success recently of foreign carmakers in the United States is a good example of this. Ford and Chevy were offering in 2006 three year warranties on their new cars, where Hyundai and some others were offering 10 year warranties. What does this say about their faith in reliability? I personally don't think that domestic cars are of poorer quality, I think they are as good if not better, but the way that they have been marketed in the past has been poor.

I believe that Americans are consistently overcharged for buying American made products and that they should be made more affordable for everyone. The clothing that we offer at Athletic Appeal is priced at or below our competitor's rates. We also offer discounts for large purchases, as well as free shipping for purchases over $100.00.

Many of our elected leaders say that "Pushing American Made is Protectionism and that we need to embrace a global economy." Do you agree? Why or why not?

Pushing "American Made" is just one way for us to support each other. I have read that for every $100 per year that one person spends domestically; five new jobs are created here in the USA. These jobs go to our friends and neighbors, the money goes to improving the neighborhoods that we all live in, and overall provide us with a higher quality of life.

We should embrace the notion of a global economy, and I feel that it is due time for the industrial revolution of many countries and for the increased formation of unions in second and third world countries. The world has only recently become united in real time via the internet. However, only half of Americans own a computer, and the numbers for other countries are even less. We will not be part of a true global economy until other countries step up their efforts to have reliable governments and stronger economies.

People should be free to choose what they want to wear based on their own needs. In this globalized economy, it is the Americans who are in the forefront of labor and the environment. We have laws protecting the environment and the workers here in America. Businesses face hefty fines and penalties here if they are not compliant to those laws. In many of the foreign countries, workers are not treated fairly and do not work in safe environments, oftentimes in sweatshops. I feel that all workers should be able to earn a decent wage in a safe work environment, and those responsible for the exploitation of sweatshop workers must be stopped and held accountable.


Is Athletic Appeal an online store only?

Currently we are only an online store, but depending on how market sentiment is, we may possibly open up a retail store in the next few years. I feel that the American public is ready for this type of store to hit the mainstream. There are a few small stores out there who specialize in Made in the USA apparel, but no stores that carry union made clothing on a large scale. As our business grows, we will stand by our decision to carry only domestically manufactured clothing, both union made and not.

Do you have any special deals going on at Athletic Appeal that you would like to share with our readers?

Our spring sale is here with 25% off of printed tee shirts. There are many other volume discounts as well in our store. Buy two pairs of union made jeans and get $10.00 off. Baseball season is upon us and we are offering sports uniforms 25% off with not only free shipping, but team discounts as well, all made in the USA. All outerwear is also labeled 30% off. These discounts won't last long, so click on www.AthleticAppeal.com and show your patriotism with your clothing tag.

Shop American Made at www.AthleticAppeal.com Today!


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