Purposes
The primary purpose of PennMade is to increase visibility and sales of products made by our vendors in Pennsylvania.
Secondly, I want to feature PennMade Vendors. These businesses have agreed to meet basic Pennsylvania-Source standards, to identify any advertised product not made in Pennsylvania and to allow me to visit their workplaces to verify they manufacture what they advertise as PA made.
Finally, I believe if citizens buy more goods and merchandise from businesses within our own state, Pennsylvania's economy will strengthen for the long term.
Policy
1. Two types of vendors shall be listed on this website: Link and PennMade.
2. Link Vendors submit a Link Application and receive an Acceptance Letter. Their websites identify themselves as manufacturing/generating products in Pennsylvania (hereafter PA). I cannot confirm that they make their products in PA.
3. PennMade Vendors submit a PennMade Application and receive an Acceptance Letter. They agree to meet applicable Pennsylvania-Source standards, to identify any product shown on their webpage/website not made in PA and to allow me to visit their works sites to verify they manufacture/generate the products they advertise as PA made.
4. Pennsylvania Source Standards. What does PA made mean? What does it mean to generate a product in our state? It means committment to quality, to concern for the people and natural resources within our state and to satisfy our customers. Not every business shares these committments. PennMade Vendors, in certain classifications, agree to follow minimum criteria in manufacturing/generating their products. Some have already been established by PA law. For PennMade Vendors, a product must have a Pennsylvania-Source.
5. Manufacturers. A manufactured product is Pennsylvania-Sourced if 80% of its assembly was completed in PA.
6. Custom Meat. Animals are Pennsylvania-Sourced if the PennMade vendor raises the animal for over half of its life.
7. Honey from apiaries registered with the PA Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry is Pennsylvania-Sourced.
8. Wholesale-Processing, Manufacturing and Distribution of Food. All food products created in businesses registered with the PA Department of Agriculture will be considered Pennsylvania-Sourced.
9. Wines made in Pennsylvania from fruit grown in Pennsylvania will be considered Pennsylvania-Sourced.
10. Artists. Any handcraft or music made by a PA resident will be considered Pennsylvania-Sourced.
11. Non-Pennsylvania Products Identified on Webpage/Website. PennMade Vendors shall identify any product shown on their webpage or website not manufactured or generated in PA .
12. Site Visits. Once every two years, I will visit each PennMade Vendor's place of business during regular business hours. The PennMade Vendor will show me how they manufacture/generate the PA made products shown on their webpage/website. If their Acceptance Letter required them to meet a Pennsylvania-Source criteria, compliance with that standard would need to be shown also.
13. The webpage of a PennMade vendor should contain, if at all possible, at least one picture containing the vendor's physical plant and featuring at least one current owner or employee.
14. Reserved.
15. Customer Feedback Voting. Each vendor's webpage has a location where a customer could enter a vote to rate that vendor. I'm trying this on a trial basis. Customers are on their honor to be honest in rating the vendor on a scale of 1 to 5 stars with 5 stars being the best rating possible. Feedback is important for the customer to make and the vendor to consider.
16. These purposes and policies were last amended on February 11,2010 and may be amended again in the future.
17. I reserve the exclusive right to accept or deny Vendor Applications. Once a business becomes a Link or PennMade Vendor, they must continue to comply with these Purposes and Policies. The information on the vendor's application must be updated and correct. If the vendor does not satisfy these requirements, I reserve the ability to cancel its Acceptance Letter, remove its PennMade webpage/website link and return any unearned listing fee prorated.