While visiting the USA last week I was struck afresh by the nation's patriotic energy, something we seem to have lost here on the small island.

I was also struck by how 'Made in USA' appears as a significant high-profile feature of many advertisements and promotions, be that in-store, on TV, or on the page.

Compare and contrast this with the words of Morgana managing director Quen Baum in the Best of British feature in today's PrintWeek. "We try and promote the fact we're British and I'd like to think that people do consider that if they buy something British they are also helping the economy, but I'm not sure they care... If we're not the cheapest then very often they won't consider it. It's very disappointing when people buy a foreign machine just because it's 10% less."

How depressing. It's right up there with that notorious example of overseas sourcing based on cheapness that saw the BT phonebooks leave Britain for a Spanish printer that benefits from EU subsidies. What a wrong-headed world we live in. Would something similar happen at France Telecom? Somehow I doubt it.

Perhaps there's a glimmer of hope. Something that could potentially emerge from the parlous state of the economy, and the worrying employment outlook, is a fresh comprehension of the wider consequences of all of our purchasing decisions.