On a Cookware thread there has been a pretty good discussion on buying or not buying things made in China. It is pretty easy to find wonderful cooking equipment etc. made in western Europe or the USA. It seems more challenging for clothing. The options for men are quite good only if their style of dress is pretty traditional. Virtually everything I wear other than sweaters and socks was made in the USA. The options for women are much more limited. It strikes me that in this world of fast fashion and synthetics, wearing loose, comfortable khakis, jeans, cords, oxford cloth shirts, linen shirts, madras shirts, and so on makes more sense than ever. It wears extremely well, it is free of forever chemicals, it is easy to patch, and when it finally wears out it is compostable. Yes, it costs a bit more, but not hunting down new fashion all the time saves a ton of money. It feels nice to support my fellow residents having jobs. It feels good not to be funding businesses that pay Chinese taxes.
I have expanded my buy American things to other things like razor blades, brooms and brushes, and even my foreign badged car made in SC.
This all reminds me of my slow shift to more grains, vegetables, and fruits and more organic products (and heritage chickens and pigs), but I’ll save all that for now.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
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Much of my city’s 19th century wealth was built on the cotton trade and garment manufacture. My father’s entire work experience was with a company producing women’s coats.
But, in the UK, there’s no longer mass manufacturing here and most clothing is imported. For example, I’ve just looked at the first few of my polo shirts hanging in the wardrobe and they were made in either Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.
I have noticed that other than woolens, “Made in England” or “Made in Scotland” tags are rare. Although still a relatively small presence in the larger men’s apparel market, I note a lot of “Made in the USA” tags. Yet, although internal tags must reveal country of origin here, they are almost always obscure and inside rather than openly proclaiming “Made in (insert country).” I also observe one exception, lots of conspicuous “Made in India” labels. In the online descriptions and the still surprisingly large number of paper catalogues, if it is made anywhere other than the USA, Canada, western Europe, or, for cotton, especially polos, Peru, it just says “imported” or omits country of origin.
Another interesting observation is that heritage brands like Brooks Brothers, J. Press, and Abercrombie & Fitch that built their brands on clothing made in the USA and, to a degree, Great Britain, now exist in name only and have either given up or are seriously winnowing their American ranges. Brooks Brothers’ entire website shows only one shirt as Made in the USA. Large and growing sections of the Press offerings are imported. A & F has become almost a fancy Gap or Target. The preppy New England or southern coastal lifestyle brands you might expect to be made here simply aren’t: Murray’s, Castaway, Vineyard Vines, Southern Tide, etc.
It’s very difficult as far as women’s clothing is concerned to find mass market items made in the US. My dad was in the menswear business; technically, a wholesaler. Various mills and factories made items for him. Manufacturing moved overseas beginning in the early 80s and the American fabricators shut down. I can still recite their names. So my dad was faced with 2 choices: either go overseas for suppliers, which in pre-Internet days would mean the complications of incessant letters of credit and foreign travel, or try to become a boutique niche designer brand which could remain (at least at that time) centered in the US. He (wisely) chose the third option, to close the business and sell the assets, and he tried to make sure that his people found other positions. Many people held onto a similar no longer viable business model for too long.
Agree that sourcing is tough. Where was the fabric grown, spun, clothing sewn? A friend in the fashion industry says reporting/tags are often inaccurate, both for outright fraud and supply/labor adjustments. We’ve had good luck with men and women’s cotton clothing from American Giant www.american-giant.com
Yes, American Giant is good. There is a company called SOS From Texas that makes organic cotton tee shirts at very good prices. Also Texas Jeans (made in NC!) are great and well priced.
Everything was from the US. It was that long ago. The mills wove and spun their home “grown” cotton and wool. Factories that sewed used US goods. That’s the way it used to be; there were neighborhood clothing stores/haberdashers too. They’re long gone as well.
ETA: one of the mills was Avondale. It had a long history and rough decline at the end. It’s closed now, of course.
Some of Paul Stuart’s ladies’ line used to be made in Canada. I assume this holds true for the menswear, along with France and Italy, of course, but I wouldn’t know about them these days. A few independent women’s stores here (they are few and far between) have Canadian knitwear, or did before the pandemic (I haven’t been back clothes shopping yet. No real desire…).
Glad to. I can provide virtually all of the more traditional men’s clothing and shoemakers. They are all more expensive than most overseas counterparts, but they are incredibly well made and will last a very long time. For example, I only have a handful of dress shirts. I could have gotten a dozen very nice store brand shirts from Nordstrom for the same price. I am comfortable that in the long run mine will save money and waste. The nice made in USA loafers I bought in 1989 were in close to daily use until 2020.
Location is a factor, but I’d also consider overall sustainability and fair trade practices. For casual wear, Patagonia is a B corp and REI also has many more sustainable options.
I love the way Patagonia recycles, refurbishes, and uses organic cotton. I also note they are working to get the forever chemicals out of their insulated and rainwear.
Husband appreciates Patagonia’s mens items. I’m not so fond of women’s cuts (style + too short). I try to only buy natural fibers, no blends. That’s difficult these days! Also loving the “worn wear” trend.
I try to avoid Chinese made products. I checked my latest items, Honduras, Cambodia and Indonesia. I don’t know where my Keds were made. I don’t even know if I own anything made in the USA, but I would if given the choice.
