Uncle Goose
Wooden alphabet blocks hand-made from Great Lakes basswood in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
🇺🇸 Made in USA
Our assessment
Company details
Where Uncle Goose products are made
The blocks are hand-manufactured — cut, sanded, embossed and printed by people, not shipped in from a contract factory. The company says its craftspeople include families that have been in woodworking in the area for generations.
Most “made in USA” toy claims cover assembly only. Uncle Goose is explicit that the wood, the ink and the packaging are all domestic, and that there is nothing foreign about the blocks other than the foreign languages printed on some of them.
The company works in American basswood: a fast-growing renewable hardwood that is sturdy but light, with a pale, quiet grain that keeps printed letters legible. Offcuts and wood curls are re-purposed rather than binned.
The Michigan manufacturing, the “no non-USA materials or labor” statement, the American ink supplier, the Maine-lathed wheels and the third-party safety testing are all published by Uncle Goose on unclegoose.com. The company does not publish a founding year, so none is asserted here.
The story
Uncle Goose makes wooden blocks. That is nearly the whole product line, and the company treats the narrowness as the point rather than a limitation.
The blocks are cut from American basswood — a Great Lakes hardwood the company chose because it is sturdy without being heavy for small hands, and because its pale, delicate grain does not fight the printed letters and images. They are left completely untreated: no varnish, no polish, no sheen. A child who licks one finds out that plain basswood is dull.
The ink comes from an American manufacturer that does not use heavy metals, and Uncle Goose has it third-party tested rather than relying on in-house checks. The company is direct about why: it says overseas competitors generally test in-house, to lower standards.
Scrap does not go to landfill. Wood curls are used as horse bedding and salvage is burned for home heat, which the company points out is what sustainability actually looks like in a small woodshop.
Why they matter
Wooden toys are one of the most thoroughly offshored categories there is. Blocks in particular are simple, heavy relative to their value, and easy to make anywhere — which is exactly why almost nobody makes them here.
Uncle Goose does not just assemble domestically; it names every input. Wood, ink, packaging, even the lathed wagon wheels. That is a stricter claim than most companies are willing to make, and it is checkable.
It is also a wage argument. The company says plainly that hand-manufacturing in Michigan means paying a living wage in Michigan. The price of the blocks is the price of that decision, and the company would rather explain it than hide it.
Shop Uncle Goose products
Browse Uncle Goose wooden blocks and toys stocked on the Buy American Campaign store.
Frequently asked questions
Are Uncle Goose blocks made in the USA?
Yes. Uncle Goose states on its own website that its toys are hand-manufactured in Michigan and that it uses no non-USA materials or labor — the wood, ink and packaging are all American.
Where is Uncle Goose located?
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
What wood are Uncle Goose blocks made from?
American basswood, also called linden, grown in the Great Lakes region. It is a renewable hardwood that is sturdy but light, with a pale grain that keeps printed letters readable.
Are Uncle Goose blocks safe for children?
The company says its blocks are too large to be a choking hazard, the wood is natural and uncoated, and the ink is bought from an American manufacturer that uses no heavy metals and is third-party tested. Uncle Goose recommends them for ages 2 and up.