What does “buying local” mean?


You have definitely heard Uruguayan brands say that it is important to “support local industry.” And it is not a cliché. Today the market of different products is so vast that buying directly from us really does make a difference.
In and of itself, a product made in China isn’t necessarily better or worse than a product made in Uruguay. In both countries there are better and worse workshops or factories —depending on the scale —and leathers that are of better or worse quality. For that reason, we don´t believe in demonizing the large clothing chains, nor the practice of producing clothing in another country.
At muss, in particular, we are obsessed with quality. We love to select the best materials so that our handbags, wallets or backpacks last for years, and so that they look even better as time goes by. Also, since we have our own workshop we can give ourselves the luxury of making several practice items or prototypes until we are absolutely sure that the product we are launching is excellent.



Another big plus that being a local, small business gives us is being in touch with our clients. We like to have a close contact and we like that they ask us for help to pick the model, leather or color that will go best with their style. Or, that once they have the backpack we can advise them about how to take care of it, or if it breaks we can mend it instead of throwing it away.
Interestingly enough, we learned about the importance of contact with the clients by selling overseas. The consumers from the United States, Australia or the UK have very high expectations of the products they purchase. In our search to please them, we discovered that this is what differentiates muss, even when we are thousands of kilometers away.



Producing in Uruguay allows us to generate local labor opportunities. When a client buys a backpack from us they become part of this chain of production. Behind every muss creation there are two designers, craftsmen, models, photographers, salespeople and more. This fills us with pride.
The idea of this post was to share with you what is behind each handbag from muss, but also to learn about what your experience has been. Do you tend to prioritize local industry?
2 comments on “What does “buying local” mean?”
Paloma Alarcón
Siempre priorizo el mercado local si lo que me brindan es calidad, belleza y tendencias. No compro si es uruguayo solo por serlo, pero cuando encuentro a fabricantes como uds, se aseguran una clienta y una promoción, porque son excelentes.
muss
Qué bueno lo que decís Paloma, ¡gracias por tu comentario!
Tal cual lo comentas, nos parece que lo más importante es comprar inteligentemente y conociendo un poco más qué hay detrás.