You Can't Just Slap 'Brooklyn Made' On Anything, City Says

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Last month, The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce—dismayed by things like Sbarro's Brooklyn Fresh pizza chain (biggest market: Ohio) and Houston's Brooklyn Athletic Club—launched the Brooklyn Made certification.

The initiative rewards goods that are actually produced in the borough with a shiny label, differentiating them from, say, bottles of "Brooklyn Artisanal Bitters" manufactured way beyond the reaches of the MTA. And yesterday, the first batch of Chamber-approved products was unveiled at Cobble Hill's By Brooklyn—the only shop to exclusively sell Brooklyn-made merch.

Spoonable confectionary sauces, Raaka chocolates, Gillies coffee, and MakerBot Industries 3-D printing all made the cut, Brokelyn reports. Of course, just because a product has a "Brooklyn Made" label doesn't mean it wasn't produced in the borough—companies have to apply for certification. And they have to be okay with slapping labels on their goods—we can't imagine Mast Brothers marring that pretty, pretty packaging with stickers anytime soon.
· Here's a look at the first class of certified 'Brooklyn Made' stuff [Brokelyn]