Good observations.

It would be nice if there were a way to fully evaluate a product and its producer before purchase, independent from the uncertainty and doubt created by company self-reporting / advertising practices. Something like a Consumer Reports, but with a rather different focus. The country of origin code is a good example. Final assembly may be in the U.S. (or Europe, or wherever), but where do the parts come from? In other cases, we might want to know what the labor practices are in the production facility, or the expected lifetime of the product based on similar products from the manufacturer, or where the purchase price is going (taxes, executive pay, local wages, foreign wages, etc.).