Why Choose Australian-made Products?
The last few years have seen a rise in support for our local retailers, small businesses, and independent shops, providing many benefits to us as consumers as well as to the environment and the wider community. Research has indicated that many Australians are now placing a greater priority on becoming a nation self-sufficient in manufacturing as well as creating more domestically available jobs to help ensure the long-term prosperity of our great country.
The impact COVID-19 is having on Australians is unprecedented in many ways – including our buying habits. More Australians are buying online and doing much more research prior to purchasing. Critically, this research shows there is an even greater preference for Australian-made products than ever before. With the pandemic contributing to the momentum, these ‘Buy Aus, Buy Local’ movements come with a welcomed shift in awareness of the opportunities possible when keeping more of our hard-earned income fuelling the growth of the Australian economy, and the communities within.
Let’s take a look at just some of the benefits of buying Australian-made products:
1. You support Australian jobs.
Research conducted by Venture Insights on behalf of NBN Co. found that more than two thirds (70 per cent) of respondents are consciously supporting local businesses online since social distancing came into effect. Buying Australian-made products (bonus points if you can buy in your own postcode) creates a flow-on effect with more of the money you spend improving living conditions in Australian communities – from as small as your neighbourhood stretch to as large as the country itself. This means:
- You are supporting Australian jobs; the business you back with your dollar can spend more money on employing more Australians.
- With more Australian jobs comes more families and households with extra money to spend on activities like grabbing a coffee, eating out, visiting the cinema, gym memberships, and even weekly grocery shopping or paying bills.
- The business owners may also spend a portion of this money with other local businesses, cafes, retail stores, accountants, lawyers, councils, or local professionals; further keeping the money within the community.
- Finally, the business and employees pay their taxes to the Australian government which helps to improve our public facilities like schools, parks, and hospitals.
Agar employs a substantial workforce within its manufacturing facility in Melbourne’s inner-North and distribution warehouses around the country and takes great pride in knowing these jobs are helping families across Australia. Even as more businesses are choosing to move their manufacturing overseas, Agar is focused on providing safer and fair working conditions for its workers here in Australia.
2. You help safeguard the national economy.
More research has also shown that nine in ten (89 per cent) Australians believe Australia should be producing more products locally following the COVID-19 pandemic. As Australians become more aware of the importance of self-sufficient manufacturing, the paradigm is now shifting to alleviate the dependence we have placed on vulnerable international supply chains.
By manufacturing more goods domestically, we are effectively levelling out the imbalance between locally made and imported products. This can help safeguard our national economy during times of great difficulty or uncertainty by guaranteeing a more consistent supply of critical goods. Perhaps more importantly, buying Australian-made products also helps sustain the local business, ensuring the longevity of domestic manufacturing and production. This also provides ample opportunity to align the product (from creation to delivery) to Australian expectations – be it in quality, customer service, or sustainability.
Proudly Australian, Agar has been a family-owned and operated company since 1968. With an extensive network of distributors around the country, Agar strives to provide high quality, consistent, and reliable chemical solutions that offer its customers a high level of value.
3. You get the quality you pay for.
Part of the major benefits of boosting domestic manufacturing is getting the Australian-made peace of mind. Australia has some of the strictest standards and the most stringent criteria businesses must adhere to when manufacturing their products. And that is precisely why Australian-made has an international reputation for quality goods. Each product is made to high standards with quality control measures in place for safety and performance, and a higher level of traceability for the components, packaging, and delivery that you may otherwise miss out on when buying abroad.
With over 50 years of experience manufacturing cleaning chemicals trusted by professionals, our products are expertly formulated for Australian conditions and offer the Australian-made quality you have come to rely on.
4. You get clearer communication.
Australia has a high bar set for customer service etiquette and we rightly expect a level of decorum and accuracy when speaking with customer service representatives. Customer service is such a huge part of the buying experience. A timely effort to answer any queries and rectification of mismanaged or mishandled orders from companies overseas can be a difficult and arduous process, potentially causing massive delays to your schedule. Buying from domestic manufacturers often means easier contact and coordination efforts, lower lead times, and extended consumer protection laws – usually resulting in a much more pleasant buying experience overall.
Renowned for its quality of service, Agar’s team of highly trained staff are experts in cleaning and can assist with answering a variety of questions and problem-solving.
5. You can choose green without a compromise on quality or effectiveness.
Environmental sustainability is becoming progressively more reflected in many Australians’ buying choices due to the ongoing and future impact climate change is posing to our environment. By buying Australian-made goods you can ensure that stringent environmental guidelines and policies have been adhered to in the manufacturing process. It also means there may be further decreases in carbon emissions from the shortened transportation distances.
Keeping businesses accountable by consciously choosing where to spend your money ensures more transparency within each step of the manufacturing process and creates opportunities for us to close the ‘unsustainability’ loop further, moving towards a more sustainable future for all to benefit.
Several products in Agar’s Green Cleaning Range have been independently certified by GECA, which is recognised globally as the most robust and credible form of environmental label, involving multiple criteria and lifecycle considerations. As cleaning is a labour-intensive activity, these green cleaning products are formulated using the most effective ingredients, allowing cleaning tasks to be completed in less time, saving labour hours and therefore energy use. Additionally, our green cleaning range is highly concentrated, reducing packaging waste and the unnecessary carbon emissions on shipping water weight.
So, really, why is choosing Australian-made products the smarter choice?
COVID-19 changed the way we all live our day-to-day lives. Strengthening our local manufacturing industries allow us to work more in-sync with our local retailers and provide more secure supply chains for our local communities. By being conscious with our spending, we can make the choice to feed directly into local job creation, high ethical standards and fair workers’ rights, more sustainable sourcing, shorter travel distances, and lower carbon footprints, each with their own flow-on effects. All this by buying Australian-made.
Supporting Australian businesses has a wealth of benefits. Given our current climate, buying Australian-made helps those around us in their recovery from the social and financial burden of COVID-19 faster. It’s just that simple.
