‘Amish’ sells.

Whether it’s an overpriced bag of trail mix or a six-figure kitchen cabinet installation, people gravitate towards the implicit quality of anything with the Amish label.

Exactly what does that label mean anyway?

Does tobacco grown in the general vicinity of Amish country count as ‘Amish’?  What about an RV produced at a factory with Amish workers?  Does an Amish person actually have to make the product, or sell it, or just handle it at some point along the way?

‘Amishness’ is a bit of a mystery.  Just where does it come from?

There really is no regulatory body for this sort of thing.  Would be nice if there was.  Then the Amish could get rid of some of the freeriders.

Truth be told, most Amish don’t like explicitly promoting their products with their name.  But a lot of other people do.  Freeriders on the Amish name are all over the place in Amish Country.  The Amish find this slightly annoying.  But they live with it.  Suing is out of the question, and how could you do it, even if you wanted to?  There is no ‘Amish’ trademark.

It’s still one heck of a brand, though.

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