Made in the U.S.A.; Sold ... Nowhere?

May 27, 2009 -- Reminders to buy American are everywhere you turn. Analysts warn of trade deficits and politicians talk endlessly about preserving U.S. jobs, while America's once-great automakers shutter factory after factory, done in by foreign competition.

So, what if you, as a patriotic consumer, decided to live by the slogan, restricting your purchases -- from clothing to tools to tents -- to products made in the U.S.A.?

A recent Utah shopping trip suggested not only that it would be expensive, it might well be impossible. To get a bead on what it takes these days to buy American, "Nightline" visited three temples of U.S. consumerism: Sears, Wal-Mart and Lowe's. The mission was to acquire clothes, sporting goods and household items while buying as few foreign goods as possible.

Watch the full story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. ET.

There were indications that it wouldn't be easy. American factory output is at a 26-year low, Reuters recently reported. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, more than 2 million jobs have been lost to China since 2001.

And jobs aren't just headed to China. We stopped in Tremonton, Utah, home for 30 years to a factory devoted to a quintessentially American product: La-Z-Boy loungers. The local plant closed in June 2008.

Darrell Christensen, 60, worked at the La-Z-Boy factory for 28 years.

"They just stood up there and said we've decided to move all of our facilities, sewing -- cutting and sewing facilities -- to Mexico, and we will close the plant," Christensen said in an interview at his Tremonton home. "We were making good money, and of course, you had to work, but that's good for people to work. That's what it's all about."

The first stop on our mission to buy American was a Sears department store in Salt Lake City. We were after a full suit of clothes, with as many items made in America as possible. We came out with eight items total: sports jacket (made in China), pants (China), necktie (China), belt (China), boxer shorts (Mexico), undershirt (Honduras), dress shirt (Bangladesh) and suitcase (China).