You often don’t think about where your cup or glass or water bottle came from, other than from the cupboard before you filled it, or from the store before that. But it had to come from somewhere. Where did that little vessel used to quench your thirst and keep you hydrated come from? Many drinkware manufacturers are a part of the ever-booming plastics industry, which is the third largest industry in manufacturing in the United States. So as you fill up to the brim, know that there will not be a shortage of cups anytime soon, if drinkware manufacturers have anything to say about it.
Production locally and around the globe
There is an ever-present debate about job distribution and where many types of jobs end up. The push for more local jobs goes head-to-head with companies that are more interested in better profits than in recognizing how jobs affect people. But things are turning around. Companies within the U.S. specializing in plastic injection molding products, drinkware products, 3D printing, and more are seeing more and more business as the demand remains high worldwide. As the push to bring back local jobs gains momentum and strength, more and more people are remembering the value of homemade products and the strength such jobs provide to the backbone of the country.
The strength of American manufacturing
Drinkware manufacturers are just a fraction of the plastics manufacturing pie. The whole industry is a multi-billion dollar one. In fact in 2012 alone, manufacturers in plastic goods ended up shipping around $373 billion in products. And as far as the workforce is concerned, the industry is made up of almost 900,000 employees just within the United States. That is a significant chunk of the entire country’s workforce. Taking a quick look around any modern room, it is not hard to see why the industry is doing so well. Plastics have become so heavily engrained into our every day lives that you can hardly go far without running into some form of plastic or another.
Go get up from your computer for a quick drink. See if you can count the number of times your hands touch some kind of plastic from the moment you get up to the moment your fingers close around the drinkware in your cupboard.