You've probably seen computer giant Apple's latest television and print campaign, where it brays that its products are Designed by Apple in California.
It may be new to the company, but the idea isn't new. I'm sick of seeing T-shirts, hats, bags, and other items bearing big labels reading Designed in Canada or Designed in the U.S.A. Because the part of the sentence that's missing is ... but made in whatever country we can get to do it for the least amount of money.
So it's designed in California or Canada. So what? That employs a few hundred people (and good for them, really). But it's building something that makes a community strong: employing a few thousand people, along with the people employed at the suppliers bringing in the raw materials, and the businesses that benefit when those workers spent their pay for goods and groceries.
Apple might design its products in California, where workers enjoy bright and airy workspaces, fresh food in the cafeteria, plug-in stations for their electric cars, and benefits to keep them healthy.
But where are the products built? According to varies news reports, Apple products are made by people working long hours, for very little pay, in facilities that don't follow environmental safety rules, or worker safety rules.
Designed in California isn't a positive thing. It's a company preening itself about how great the tip of the iceberg is, without mentioning how rotten it is below the surface.
Remember this: any product that comes with a label about how it's designed in is a product that's hiding something.