Made in Germany is much more than just a location branding: it is history, politics, industrial innovation and international trade competition, cultural values, social engagement, and labor standards. Although Made in Germany is still of enormous importance for German and European prosperity—and consequently for democracy—the fear of being labelled negatively for breaching ‘political correctness’ led many designers to denounce ‘Made in Germany’ as a relic of the past or even as an expression of ethnocentricity.
Made in Germany is a successful application of David Ricardo’s competitive advantage, an economic theory beneficial to international commerce and peaceful coexistence. Ricardo's teachings are of great importance, especially today when tariffs, tolls, and isolationism threaten to throw the international community off balance. The eighteenth-century British economist and politician claimed that nations should identify where their advantage lies in producing material and immaterial goods effectively and exchange those goods or services for the same goods that other nations have produced better, faster, cheaper.
Over the last half-century, developing countries rooted their competitive advantage in cheap labor, using it to attract European and U.S. manufacturers and capital. This was at the expense of labor laws, ethical standards, and environmental issues, which were not considered or respected during these countries’ industrialization process.
Made in Germany means top quality, education and research, innovation, workers' rights, ethics, product durability, sustainability, society-oriented design goals, aesthetic unpretentiousness, integration of cultural heritage. Additionally, through fair pricing, Made in Germany goods enabled many consumers’ access to comforts and improved quality-of-life.
Made in Germany was not born overnight, yet it became transnational quite early and spread its principles from Weimar and Dessau to Athens, Tel Aviv, and the rest of the world, thus enhancing the talents and imaginations of foreigner designers too.
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