Hey y'all, Mike here from All-American Reviews, and today I'm talking about how to find belts made in the USA. There are a lot of different types of belts out there, whether you want something that's leather, nylon, or another material, they can be really tough to tell where it's made and where the materials are sourced from. There are huge belt manufacturers in a lot of foreign countries that are supplying a lot of popular brands that are based in the US. One such company is Tata Accessories, Down-Bot-Emala. They are absolutely massive and the production arm behind a brand of apparel and accessories, which then supplies a lot of the products for Levi's, Dockers, Cow and Cline, Chaps, and a bunch of other popular brands that are based in the US. So in today's video, I'm going to be covering how to spot belts that are made in the USA by top picks for American made belts. Make sure to stick around to the end of the video where we'll be uncovering where some of the biggest brands and belts are actually made. I've also written about this exact same topic before, so check in the description below, for a link to that article, or you can just google all American reviews best belts. And if you're passionate about buying American made products like this video, subscribe to our channel, make sure to head over to all American reviews where you'll find a ton of research and buying guides on shopping American made. All right, let's get into today's video on how to find belts made in the USA. First up, let's cover how to spot which belts are made in the USA, starting with the belt strap. Now, there's a lot of different popular materials that go into belt straps these days. The most popular being leather, but there's also stuff like nylon, canvas, and some recycled materials like rubber and recycled rope. Starting with non-leather belt straps, you can typically find a lot of good American made options, especially if you're looking in the recycled materials category. Typically, those companies are going to be more locally sourced as well as you go conscious too. Now, when it comes to nylon belt straps, the US has pretty good market share in nylon production, but is still significantly behind China in terms of the total number of tons produced per year. The US has roughly half of the production of China in that category, so just make sure to watch out for the country origin there. When it comes to leather belt straps, like I talked about in my video on how to find cowboy boots made in the USA, there are a lot of good options for sourcing leather from the US, both in terms of cow hide as well as other popular letters. Now, it's just when you get into some of those exotic letters, where local sourcing becomes a little bit more difficult. When it comes to leather quality, keep in mind that the highest quality belt straps is going to be full grain leather. Now, it's going to be a little bit more expensive than top grain and genuine leather, but like I said, higher quality. Full grain basically just means non-modified, whereas top grain is going to be shaved down or smooth out a little bit, which can cause it to be a little bit weaker. Then, I would just recommend staying away from genuine leather in general. It's basically just a hodgepodge of things that are loosely defined as leather. Moving on from belt straps to other materials, you also want to make sure that you know where the buckle as well as the frame are sourced as well. Now, there's a lot of different cinch techniques that go into belts, and this material can be plastic, steel, or something else entirely, so just make sure to check the country of origin there. Fortunately, we have some US legislation that helps us identify the country of origin when we're shopping in store. Title 19, chapter 4, section 1304 of the US code states that any product that is imported must be labeled as such on the product or packaging. So, just watch out for those red flag qualifiers like design in the USA, assembled in the USA, and others that indicate that the entire production process may not be domestic. And unfortunately, this also does not apply to marketing materials and their online store, so if they aren't super clear on their website about where their products are made, just make sure to give them a call or hit us up at all in order to reduce. All right, now that we've covered some tips on how to spot belts made in the USA, let's get into my top picks for American made belts. Now, there's a lot of great options out there for belts made in the USA, and more than that I have time to cover in today's video, so for a full list of all of our research on belts made in the USA, make sure to head over to all of my interview, which I've linked that article in the description below, or like I said earlier, you can just google all of my interview's best belts and should be able to see us there. First up is group 6. If you're looking for a casual wear nylon belt or something to go golfing or hiking with, group 6 is a great option. Group 6 was started pretty recently about five or six years ago by kind of a beach in mids and basically just wanted something that was simple, functional and long lasting. Fast forward to today, and they're making some of the best nylon belts on the market. Group 6 is also partnering with a lot of other great American made brands like Freedom Futex. I actually have a group 6 belt myself and wear it almost every day. It is a really comfortable nylon belt and has a unique cinch technique, which makes sizing really easy. So if you want something casual that you can wear every day, group 6 is a great choice. Next is lifetime leather. Lifetime leather is an amazing family and manufacturer that lot of different leather goods and their belts are a great no frills, full grain leather option for both casual wear as well as more formal occasions. They were founded in 2011 in their base in Arizona. They're basically hand crafting every single thing that they make. They also have a lot of wallets bags and other products, but if you just need a classic leather belt, definitely check out lifetime leather. Next is Colonel Littleton. If you're looking for something a little more high-end, Colonel Littleton is a great choice. These guys are a small town, leather goods maker in Lincoln, Tennessee, and refer themselves as the great American leather company. They have some pretty unique cinch techniques on some of their belts and also have a lot of options for higher end leather like pufflo and alligator, so if that's something that you're looking for, head over to Coral Littleton. Next is belted cow. Belted cows are built manufacturer based in Maine and they are best known for their ribbon and needle point belts. They got started in 2004 and sourced their leather from the Midwest, tan it right there in Maine, and then sourced to cotton from textile news in nearby Rhode Island. They have a lot of unique style options that ribbon and needle point variety and also a lot of other types of belts, but if that's your style, check out belted cow. Next is hang spelt. I really like hang spelts for their concealed carry belts. They're made from full-grained leather and super durable. Let me tell you all, these things are thick. If you want, you can replace the buckle with your own, but overall, hang spelts are a really sturdy action. Check out their gunner style, which is the one that started all for them. And the last brand I'll cover in today's video is Thomas Bates. Thomas Bates is based out of Massachusetts and has some really great handmade leather stuff as well as some really awesome fabric belts. One of the things we really like about them though is some of their style options for winning both of these leather and fabric variety. They're braided belts in particular are pretty cool, so I'll link to them below if you want to check out Thomas Bates. Now let's get to some frequently asked questions. First up are ants and belts made in the USA. And the answer is no, they do some of their assembly here, but use Italian calf skin in a lot of their belts. Italy in particular is a big hub for belt manufacturing, so just be wary of some bigger brands like ants and. Next are Polo and Ralph Lauren belts made in the USA. And the answer is no pretty much all of their stuff is imported. And lastly are the no-boss belts made in the USA. So, Bonobos is a clothing brand that has become pretty popular over the last few years, but unfortunately their belts are not made in the USA. We did an analysis of their entire online store and all 33 belts that they had in stock were all imported. Alright, that's it for this video on how to find belts made in the USA. If you have any questions, drop a comment below or should just a message at all American reviews and we'll find out for you in the right time to put up. If you like this video remember to like and subscribe and thanks for supporting your country and shopping American Maine. See y'all next time.