US Olympic Outfits

[*Anya*]

**I believe that we are allowed to take the topic in any direction we deem appropriate unless a moderator or admin tells us otherwise**

From Women's Wear Daily

Global Sourcing Spinning Faster
Cotton Incorporated

One of the major factors in the country's stubborn unemployment numbers is the loss of manufacturing jobs — 5.6 million in the last decade. All the off-shoring paired with the still-tenuous economy has given momentum to U.S.A.-made product, including apparel.

Government figures show the textile and apparel industries in particular lost more than a million manufacturing jobs in the last decade. More than a quarter-million positions went to China alone, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, D-CA, says for America to continue to be strong, the country has to invest in it. She's been active in supporting Make It In America (MIIA) legislation, and has hosted an MIIA exhibit for two years at her district's county fair.

"There's no question Corporate America has the right to manufacture wherever it wants,” Speier says. "We're just trying to create incentives and value to manufacturers here in the U.S.," she says in describing the MIIA legislation. "But I think as salaries in China increase, and demands for work safety and transportation costs increase there, many apparel manufacturers will realize there's a value to making their product in the U.S."

More than half of all consumers (55%) say it is "very or somewhat important" that the apparel they buy is made in the U.S., according to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey. Consumers age 35-to-70 are significantly more likely to feel that way (66% versus 40%).

Erica Wolf, executive director of Save The Garment Center (STGC), a trade association devoted to promoting New York City's Garment District, says a major step in fulfilling this consumer preference depends on the corporate mindset.

"It has to be a concerted effort by a company," she says. "You have to want to change your business model. You have to see the value of producing something locally and what that does for your community."

That is where the MIIA legislation could help. Among other things, it expands lending and offers tax incentives to small businesses; preventing the outsourcing of U.S. jobs by closing tax loopholes for companies that send jobs overseas.

"I hope there's something behind it," says Warren Brand, co-owner of M&S Schmalberg, a custom fabric flower manufacturer in New York's Garment Center since 1919. "We've been doing this a long time and it's really hard now. There are girls here that are not working or leaving early because we don't have the work. We're paying bills, taxes and hiring union employees. I hope the government changes things, or styles change or something brings us back to where we need to be."

Today, just 3% of apparel in U.S. stores is made in the country, according to the Cotton Incorporated Retail Monitor™ survey. In 1960, American manufacturers produced 95% of all apparel sold here, according to STGC.

Roger Cohen is CEO of Regal Originals, a specialty trim stitching company and Scrub/ink, a hospital scrubs manufacturer. At one time, the company, which Cohen's father-in-law began Regal in 1950, took up two full floors. Today, it takes up only half a floor in the Garment District.

"Save The Garment Center is building awareness about the consequences of not purchasing products made in America and not supporting American workers. In industries like ours, we employ minority groups, and these groups are now hit with tremendously high unemployment — up to 20% percent in some areas. So in this economy, this legislation can only help."

Cohen suggests a campaign demanding manufacturers bring production back to the U.S. "You don't have to bring back 100% today. But bring back 5% this year and five years from now bring back another 15%, and slowly build up the economy with manufacturing."

Regal's Kenny Marvin, salesman, says the industry suffers from the mindset that it's too expensive or there aren't the facilities to produce apparel in the U.S.

"Anything that can be made overseas can be made here. And you have control. If something is going wrong in the cutting room, a domestic production manager can make a decision to cut it or not. If it's in China, and someone isn't really watching it, they're going to cut and sew it — and you're going to own it. Business is suffering because of the economy, but also because of some of the product in stores."

Six out of 10 shoppers agree U.S.-made apparel is higher in quality than clothes imported from other countries, according to the Monitor. And among those who say it is important to buy U.S.-made apparel, 87% say it is because they prefer to support the U.S. economy.

Braden Kelley, author of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire and pull marketing strategist, says the tenuous economy has definitely fueled Made in the U.S.A. momentum.

"We've been inundated by goods made in other places long enough to learn that sometimes paying a little bit more for something made in America can actually save us money, help the environment and our fellow American at the same time." Speier cites the economic stat that says if everybody spent $64 on U.S.-made product, 200,000 jobs would be generated.

"I, for one, am going out of my way to buy American-made garments," Speier says. "And it isn't easy to find them. But if consumers demand them, it means jobs. That boosts the economy and raises all of us."

http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/text...-steam-6039040

http://www.americansworking.com/clothingwomens.html

[Okiebug61]

I believe we are one of if not the only country who's Olympic Team is privately funded. So with all the outrage about the uniforms being made in China. Does our government have the right to try to legislate where the uniforms are made. I thought the outrage was very interesting and wonder how many of our representatives where clothes made in China.

[ruby_woo]

I'm not saying this to be snarky, but it's a genuine question- is there really that large of a labour pool of sewers, cutters, patternmakers, etc., in the US these days that would make setting up a garment production facility an easy enough thing to do?

Reason I'm asking-

I head up the recruiting for a company here in Vancouver that designs and produces outdoor clothing and equipment, and roughly 30% (I believe) of our manufacturing is done in Canada. Finding people who have experience working on a production sewing floor, cutting floor, etc., isn't easy. To be blunt, these aren't really jobs that Americans and Canadians are being trained for anymore. The average person working in our factory is a 50-year female Chinese immigrant.

I don't even want to tell you how I feel when I saw the Patternmaking Manager rounding the corner with a personnel requisition form. I frequently have to source patternmakers from the US, and even then there aren't many to choose from.

And there's cost. Our 200+ factory employees mostly make above minimum wage, have health care benefits for their families, we maintain the factory to comply with all safety standards, we have lots of parties, start all employees with 3 weeks vacation, and we just renovated the lunch room and it looks fierce. We're happy to do these things for our employees because we want to be a good company to work for- and we have the awards to prove it. But these things cost money, and in order to maintain a bottom line that our parent company is happy with, our products cost more. And boy do we get complaints about the cost (along with compliments about the quality).

I can completely understand the sentiment behind wanting the US Olympic clothing to be made in the US, and I would hope that they at least tried to source a factory that would be willing to do a special production run for them. However, in my experience as an employer, running a garment factory in Canada isn't an easy thing to do- the labour pool isn't there, and consumers really do complain about the costs, even if the quality is there. And not to brag, but again we do have the awards to prove the quality.

I don't really know where I'm going with this to be honest, other than to offer the perspective of an employer that does manufacture outside of Asia, South America, etc. Sorry, I don't feel comfortable posting the name of the company because if anyone is LinkedIn savvy you could find me a minute lol.

[*Anya*]

Originally Posted by ruby_woo

I'm not saying this to be snarky, but it's a genuine question- is there really that large of a labour pool of sewers, cutters, patternmakers, etc., in the US these days that would make setting up a garment production facility an easy enough thing to do?

I snipped all but the above quote Ruby.

As included in the WWD article I posted below. The jobs were here in the US, with plenty of people to do the work, until they, little by little disappeared overseas. Would there still be folks here to do those same jobs now? We will never know because they are gone now:

"Today, just 3% of apparel in U.S. stores is made in the country, according to the Cotton Incorporated Retail Monitor™ survey. In 1960, American manufacturers produced 95% of all apparel sold here, according to STGC."

[Hollylane]

Way off topic...but...

If we don't start somewhere (companies committed to bringing jobs home, who will train US workers for the garment or other industries currently outsourced, and who receive incentives from our government to make it all a little easier), we are going nowhere.

Succinctly...If no one has a dependable income, and no hope of having security in keeping a job that you trained for and are doing well, how can the economy possibly recover?

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by Hollylane

I hear that you are saying that you are aware about the pay and treatment of outsourced workers.

While they are saving money, those savings are not showing up in the costs of these outfits, and we are not saving face in the eyes of the world by participating in giving more jobs to a country who so obviously does not care about their own people, our people, or the environment. In my opinion, by doing this, we are becoming a country of people who doesn't care about our people (jobs, even temporary ones are better than no employment opportunities), their people (workers who are forced to work for pennies, forced to work long hours, threatened, forced to live in unsanitary living quarters...etc...etc), or the environment (we do not hold their factories to the same standards of our own).

Is this the face of America? I hope not. I think it is the face of American Corporate Greed. It is a side of America, but not one that I'd like to see so prominently and shamelessly displayed at the Olympics.

I think that this is a fair post.

That said, most of the world associates the USA with corporate greed and this isn't something new. The fact that US athletes will wear clothing made in China won't make any difference whatsoever as to how the USA is perceived externally.

Originally Posted by Hollylane

As far as quality goes, I don't need to claim that American made clothing is better than what is produced in any other country. But, I will say that in my experience, most of the clothing I have ever purchased that was made in China, has not been of the best quality, and rarely keeps its shape or color through a few washes.

I spend a lot of money on clothing - much of which is designer labels, relatively expensive and manufactured in lower cost parts of Asia - including Ralph Lauren but the Ralph Lauren experience is by no means unique. Most higher-end fashion labels are also outsourced to lower cost parts of the world. In my experience, there's cheap and nasty, low quality clothing from Asia but, equally, very high quality clothing. Something of an over-simplification but you get what you pay for.

As for cost reduction of any outsourcing being passed on to the end consumer? Of course not. This is because a) it doesn't fit the corporate rationale for outsourcing which is to drive further profitability (i.e. it's about cutting costs, not prices) and b) in practice, outsourcing actually saves very little money as it gives rise to considerable supply chain issues. Ultimately, we're now starting to see a trend against outsourcing with supply chains being brought back into domestic economies.

Originally Posted by Hollylane

As a personal choice, I do not want to purchase anything that is made in another country that has something on it about our country. To be clear, I mean that I try not to purchase a Mt St Helen's sweat jacket, that is made in another country. If I want a memory of Washington, I'd like that article of clothing to at least be American made. It just doesn't carry the same memory value otherwise.

Good luck with this. In my experience, having visited multiple "tourist" locations across the USA, the vast majority of clothing and souvenirs at these places are manufactured overseas and most of it is, in my opinion, nothing more than tatt.

This isn't unique to the USA - it's the same here in the UK too and also continental Europe. You'll find the typical sweat jacket follows a cookie cutter pattern and the only difference being the words inscribed and the colours used .... but they are sourced from the same factories where workers have never been to Mt St Helens, nor would most of them know where it is and, more so, wouldn't care either.

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by Okiebug61

Does our government have the right to try to legislate where the uniforms are made.

Legally, yes. Personally, however, I would have thought that there are much more important issues to be legislating on than where Olympic uniforms are made.

Originally Posted by Okiebug61

I thought the outrage was very interesting and wonder how many of our representatives where clothes made in China.

I would be astonished if a single member of your Senate or Congress had not previously worn multiple items of clothing manufactured in Asia.

[*Anya*]

There are many online resources for buying American-made products.

Here are only a few of them:

http://www.howtobuyamerican.com/index.php

http://www.buyamericanmart.com/

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=13057404

http://www.devvy.com/made_inthe_usa.html

[StillettoDoll]

I really don't like the uniforms , the uniforms look a little on the" French style" . I mean it looks like it would be more suited for France! Berets? Whats up with the Beret hats? And that scarf on the women ugh!!!! Totally french

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by ruby_woo

I'm not saying this to be snarky, but it's a genuine question- is there really that large of a labour pool of sewers, cutters, patternmakers, etc., in the US these days that would make setting up a garment production facility an easy enough thing to do?

Reason I'm asking-

I head up the recruiting for a company here in Vancouver that designs and produces outdoor clothing and equipment, and roughly 30% (I believe) of our manufacturing is done in Canada. Finding people who have experience working on a production sewing floor, cutting floor, etc., isn't easy. To be blunt, these aren't really jobs that Americans and Canadians are being trained for anymore. The average person working in our factory is a 50-year female Chinese immigrant.

I don't even want to tell you how I feel when I saw the Patternmaking Manager rounding the corner with a personnel requisition form. I frequently have to source patternmakers from the US, and even then there aren't many to choose from.

And there's cost. Our 200+ factory employees mostly make above minimum wage, have health care benefits for their families, we maintain the factory to comply with all safety standards, we have lots of parties, start all employees with 3 weeks vacation, and we just renovated the lunch room and it looks fierce. We're happy to do these things for our employees because we want to be a good company to work for- and we have the awards to prove it. But these things cost money, and in order to maintain a bottom line that our parent company is happy with, our products cost more. And boy do we get complaints about the cost (along with compliments about the quality).

I can completely understand the sentiment behind wanting the US Olympic clothing to be made in the US, and I would hope that they at least tried to source a factory that would be willing to do a special production run for them. However, in my experience as an employer, running a garment factory in Canada isn't an easy thing to do- the labour pool isn't there, and consumers really do complain about the costs, even if the quality is there. And not to brag, but again we do have the awards to prove the quality.

I don't really know where I'm going with this to be honest, other than to offer the perspective of an employer that does manufacture outside of Asia, South America, etc. Sorry, I don't feel comfortable posting the name of the company because if anyone is LinkedIn savvy you could find me a minute lol.

Ruby oh how i get this.

i feel it's rather hypocritical to demand it (MADE IN USA) on such a specific item, only because of what it represents to the rest of the world, when it is not the usual way things are done in the USA. The way the uniforms were originally ordered is just the way things are done in the USA, so i don't get why people were outraged. Will it fool people into feeling that most items in the USA are made by Americans in American factories?

How much did it cost to toss the Uniforms already made (Ralph Lauren no less) and new ones ordered? i bet it's A LOT. Would their have been a complaint had they been made in Switzerland?

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by StillettoDoll

I really don't like the uniforms , the uniforms look a little on the" French style" . I mean it looks like it would be more suited for France! Berets? Whats up with the Beret hats? And that scarf on the women ugh!!!! Totally french

IMO they are so gender biased that i can't stand it.

[stepfordfemme]

Originally Posted by ruby_woo

Finding people who have experience working on a production sewing floor, cutting floor, etc., isn't easy. To be blunt, these aren't really jobs that Americans and Canadians are being trained for anymore. The average person working in our factory is a 50-year female Chinese immigrant.

Here's a question though, aren't these jobs that would in fact say 20 years ago, train their employees-- without the expectation that these employees come in ready with experience?

I think this is a big shift in the labour market that large companies like to complain about labour pool shortages as a way to outsource and bring in immigrant workers.They don't wish to spend large amounts of money in order to train new workers. In the past companies TRAINED employees in order to keep them, create loyalty and shape the workers that they need. The expectation wasn't that employees came ready suited for the work.

And there's cost. Our 200+ factory employees mostly make above minimum wage, have health care benefits for their families, we maintain the factory to comply with all safety standards, we have lots of parties, start all employees with 3 weeks vacation, and we just renovated the lunch room and it looks fierce.

I think people do want these jobs, but I am also from the generation where young people are applying to what seem to be "entry-level" jobs where they require insane amounts of experience/education for what is "skill-level" work. I can think back to a job that I applied to a few months ago which required a university degree for an admin assistant job!

The burden is now on the employee to fund and pay for their training to even get a job in the first place. I think that this impacting greatly why people would bother to invest a ton of money to get trained to do skill level work. I think that this was a burden that never happened to previous generations. There was a sense of company loyalty, that a company could give you a path for advancement. Don't even get me started on trying to get a company to help you to get trained to benefit them! Whole other thread right there.

I'm not trying to de-rail a thread here & I truly appreciated this post.I have some friends in recruiting and I see their frustrations as well. I believe that supporting local companies that don't outsource will foster better jobs in our communities. Skilled workers are a tenet to a solid economy, so as consumers we need to support companies that do encourage keeping jobs & manufacturing in our own countries.

[Sparkle]

It's the Olympics, not the Hunger Games...I don't need our athletes to spontaneously combust or be bedazzled.
I actually think the design looks professional, crisp and smart.
So long as female athletes can choose between the skirt and the trousers, I'm fine with the outfit.

As to manufacturing jobs moving to Asia... Um.... that started happening in the 1960s, Folks. And there is a very good chance that 90% of YOUR wardrobe was made overseas.

I grew up in an area of NY State known for producing high quality leather goods (specifically gloves), our region was economically decimated by the loss of leather manufacturing jobs that began in the 60s and was complete by the late 80s.

While our area has been economically destroyed - it was HUGELY improved, environmentally. And statistically the rate of carcinoma in the population has vastly decreased.

I'm all for encouraging our companies to keep production in the US, I'm also all for improving the working conditions and wages in Asia. ...Apple. Gap. Dell. to name but a few...

But the problem, as I see it, is that while all of these manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas and a whole generation of people left without jobs....we have, on the whole, failed to invest in public education, failed to invest in re-training our workforce, so now we are working on a second and third generation of under-educated workforce without a lot of hope of earning a livable wage.

Invest in education, invest in skills training, invest in alternate energies and emerging industries.

[*Anya*]

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee

Would their have been a complaint had they been made in Switzerland?

Hi Dee!

Yes, I would still feel that uniforms for the USA Olympic team should be made in the USA regardless of where they were made-even if made by our neighbor and friend, Canada!

It is my personal belief that it is the very least we can do to support American businesses for the Olympics!

[The JD]

I had to take a look at what other countries' athletes will be wearing at the Olympics, and I'm seeing an emphasis on women in skirts across the board (world?). Perhaps a designer conspiracy? There seems to be a preference for the spiffy blazer look as well (The US team uniform makes me think of yachts and cocktails). Here are some of the other Olympic uniforms I've found:



Australia: perfect attire for the PGA tour!



Korea: They get my award for the most unisex uniforms. So what separates the men from the women? Argyle socks, of course! And EVERYONE gets a purse!



New Zealand: Um, wow. Really?!



United Kingdom: They get my award for Best Dressed Lawyers.


Jamaica: By far my favorite uniform. They look like super heros, which is, I would think, how Olympic athletes should look. And don't look for the corporate designer names here. The uniforms were created by Cedella Marley...that's right, Bob Marley's daughter. How cool is that??

[Wolfsong]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

Hi Dee!

Yes, I would still feel that uniforms for the USA Olympic team should be made in the USA regardless of where they were made-even if made by our neighbor and friend, Canada!

It is my personal belief that it is the very least we can do to support American businesses for the Olympics!

I have to agree. This should not have even been anything that they had to think about. I would have thought RL could have done better for us. We look like reject French flight attendants

[jac]

To me they have that flight-attendant look to them, which btw is a great look... if you're a flight attendant!!

I think the uniforms are all too stiff for my liking. And yes, the skirts are pathetic!!

They're athletes for gripes sake. They can go out in their uniforms and warm-up suits. This should not be a freakin' fashion show and waste of money IMO... ugh!!

[chefhmboyrd]

This whole thing would not even be an issue were it not an election year; the olympic uniforms are always ugly, and gender biased, and made in a foreign country, been that way for years.

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

Hi Dee!

Yes, I would still feel that uniforms for the USA Olympic team should be made in the USA regardless of where they were made-even if made by our neighbor and friend, Canada!

It is my personal belief that it is the very least we can do to support American businesses for the Olympics!

Sure, American corporate plc has already done more than enough to ensure that American businesses are supported for the Olympics.


Why worry about uniforms when, thanks to McDonalds' food sponsorship, all spectators are being banned from taking any personal food items into the stadia. Meanwhile, when we eventually get inside, we can only pay by Visa because Visa is a "preferred provider" to the Olympics which is corporate-speak for having paid out a lot of $$$ for the privilege.


The Olympic spirit is dead - it died years ago. Where the US team uniform are, or are not, manufactured changes that not one iota.

[Okiebug61]

Originally Posted by Ciaran

Sure, American corporate plc has already done more than enough to ensure that American businesses are supported for the Olympics.


Why worry about uniforms when, thanks to McDonalds' food sponsorship, all spectators are being banned from taking any personal food items into the stadia. Meanwhile, when we eventually get inside, we can only pay by Visa because Visa is a "preferred provider" to the Olympics which is corporate-speak for having paid out a lot of $$$ for the privilege.


The Olympic spirit is dead - it died years ago. Where the US team uniform are, or are not, manufactured changes that not one iota.

This saddens me! I refuse to give up the fight to do what's right. I will not win every time but if I do not try I will never know what the outcome might have been. Red said one of the best things ever to me early into our partnership. She said if you are an excuse driven person then your live will be one big excuse. I refuse to go out of this world spewing excuses.