With the Summer Olympics in London coming up July 27th, we found this report to be quite disappointing. During the opening ceremonies, Team USA will be wearing uniforms designed by American designer Ralph Lauren, but manufactured in China.
ABC News first broke the story and discovered “Made in China” labels on every stitch of the clothing and shoes. The prices aren’t cheap either:
Team USA Men’s Uniforms:
Beret – $55
Tie – $125
Belt – $85
Shirt – $425
Blazer – $795
Trousers – $295
Shoes – $165
Total Cost for Men’s Uniforms: $1,945 x 261 athletes = $507,645
Team USA Women’s Uniforms:
Beret – $55
Scarf – $58
Belt – $85
Shirt – $179
Skirt – $498
Blazer – $598
Total Cost for Women’s Uniforms: $1,473 x 269 athletes = $396,237
Watch the program that broke the story (after the short commercial):
American textile manufacturers lost almost $1 million to the Chinese on this order alone. US Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio is a strong supporter of American textile manufacturing and a critic of foreign outsourcing. See Senator Brown’s Letter to the US Olympic Committee that reminds them we are fully capable of making these uniforms here in America.
“If awards were given out for breaking trade laws, China would win the gold medal. The US Olympic Committee’s use of Chinese-made apparel is particularly egregious due to the ongoing and unfair competition that China poses to American manufacturers,” Brown said.
He added, “China’s illegal trade practices, including currency manipulation, only add insult to injury to American manufacturers. While athletes aren’t allowed to cheat, China is. Our athletes—and the apparel they wear—should represent America. We know how to make things in America, which is why it’s such an embarrassment that Chinese factories were used to manufacture Team USA’s uniforms.”
Brown is also the sponsor of the All-American Flag Act, which would require the federal government to purchase 100% Made in America flags. Imports of US flags from China were $3.3 million last year alone.
Here at Nashville Wraps, over 70% of our products are made in the USA. We continue to seek out more US vendors for new products like our new Folding Window Candy Boxes. Available this September, these elegant candy boxes feature clear cello window lids and have die-cut ribbon slots which can be laced with multiple width ribbons to achieve your own signature look.
Let us know what your business is doing to buy American and what you think about our Olympians wearing uniforms made in China. Regardless, we are still proud to be Americans and proud of our US Olympic Team!
Well, the USA has had their uniforms made outside of the country since the ’90’s … last Olympics they were made in China and before that in Canada … it’s good to see this finally getting the attention it needs to bring the work back here!
I believe the the folks at Ralph Lauren realized they made a big PR mistake if nothing else. But what I’ve been saying for years is look at what is on every department store, even places like Bass Pro Shops (one of my favorites). 99.9% of apparel is made outside the USA and mostly China and India. It has to do with keeping consumer prices low and store profits high. As a result it also has to do with availability. There are some clothing manufacturers in the US, and more are rebounding but it is still a long way off to a return of the industry. I am glad that this event is in the news and I hope it will increase awareness of what is happening every single day in almost every single large retailer.
My daughter was given an American Girl doll and it had a Made in China sticker on it. If she hadn’t been so in love with it, I would have thrown it away! This is definitely one of my pet peeves. Check out this story on American Girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUK93vu9e9o
Utterly sad, and shame on Sir Ralph Lauren, a savvy business man I once greatly admired! Thanks so much for the great effort on your part to support manufacturers in the US!
Well let’s hope the future holds more “gold” for us in the way of “Made in the USA” way! That’ll give us something to really cheer about, and thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I can’t publish here what I REALLY would like to say about this! It seems our own government is out to destroy all that America stands for and that the generations before us worked and sacrificed their lives for. The price of those uniforms alone is a shame!