I believe that you have seen it. You look at the bottom of Stein or a German-made product. It says "Made in Germany." You think you have acquired items made in Germany. Correct? Not necessarily!
Whether you are aware of this or not, there are some German manufacturers who actually produce their beer mugs in China! They are then shipped back to Germany where they are decorated with embossing, tin lids, etc. They are labeled "Made in Germany" before placing the items on the shelf.
This practice was only discovered in the second half of last year. A company called Ziler and Born and their lawyers wrote to all the companies involved and threatened to take legal action. So far, two of these companies, Armin Bay Keramic & Prasente GmbH and DOMEX Geschenk-Manufactur GmbH, have only recently admitted that they have done something wrong and have recently settled out of court. They also agreed to pay approximately $26,500 for future violations.
You may now think that you have nothing to worry about, but you should be aware that the agreements signed by the two companies are not applied in the United States. As a US consumer, you do not actually have protection against mislabeling.
So how do you deal with this problem? The best way to do this is to limit the purchase of beer to places that have a well-known German manufacturer's trademark for making your own products. Avoid outsourcing known companies to companies in China or elsewhere. Below you will see the Armin Bay logo at the bottom of a Chinese-made beer mug, and a photo of the DOMEX logo, which comes from a beer mug made in China.
Another safe way to ensure that you get a beer mug made in Germany is to ensure that "Made in Germany" is etched or stamped in clay. This must be done before Stein is fired, and it is illegal to import any product that already carries the words "Made in Germany" into Germany.
In an article by Westerwald Zeitung, Germany, on May 21, 1999, the following article [already translated from German into English] was published:
"Gerz Sells, only the name still exists
Sessenbach / Hillscheid. The name of the beer glass maker Gerz, which was bankrupt in Sessenbach, remains, but apparently not produced. As Westerwald Zeitung discovered yesterday, the DOMEX Geschenk-Manufaktur GmbH of Hillscheid purchased the Gerz "trademark".
This means that in the future DOMEX will sell ceramic containers called Gerz. However, these products will no longer be produced in Sessenbach. Oliver Sahm, managing partner of DOMEX, said: "The production of Sessenbach is unprofitable. We will buy Gerz products worldwide and complete them at Hillscheid. We will use local suppliers whenever possible." Sahm originally wanted to create in his company. 10 new positions. He currently has 60 employees. In their heyday, Gezi employed more than 200 people.
These beer mugs have begun to enter the market. Buyers should be careful!
Orignal From: Steins - Made in Germany - Really?
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