Lawmakers and American citizens alike continue to express outrage regarding ABC World News’ report that the U.S. Olympic team will be outfitted head-to-toe in Chinese-made apparel for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Ralph Lauren has long been depicted as an American heritage brand, embodying the American spirit, yet the brand is almost exclusively manufactured overseas. Back in 1967, when Lauren opened his first tie shop, his close proximity to American manufacturers and textile companies in New York’s garment district provided him the means to launch his necktie line. As his company continued to expand over the decades he took a note out of hundreds of other American companies’ business models and began outsourcing his apparel to China to cut bottom lines. In recent years China, the former epicenter of low-cost manufacturing, has experienced a boon in price hikes as a series of sweeping mandates have forced China to enact stricter environmental and labor controls, slashing export-tax rebates that helped create the country’s massive trade surplus. Outsourcing is no longer as profitable as it used to be. As Nanette Lepore states in the ABC video, it would absolutely be possible to outfit American Olympians in U.S.-made uniforms for less cost.
To prove that the U.S. could have produced the Opening Ceremony separates for less than Ralph Lauren manufactured them in China, I decided to examine the American-made alternatives currently available. The following articles of clothing are all manufactured in the U.S. and serve as a reminder, that in fact, our Olympians could be wearing less expensive American-made apparel than the Chinese-made goods they’ll be sporting in 10 days.
Women:
Scarf – $58 Made in China vs. Three Bird Nest’s Scarf $28.50 Made in San Francisco
Belt – $85 Made in China vs. O’Connell’s Ribbon Belt $39.95 Made in New York
Shirts– $179 Made in China vs. Organic by John Patrick Raw Hem Poplin Shirt $169 Made in USA
Skirt – $498 Made in China vs. A.L.C. Thea Waffle-Weave Skirt $495 Made in Los Angeles
Blazer – $598 Made in China vs. Thakoon Suiting Blazer $495 Made in USA
Total: Chinese-made = $1,418 vs. American-made = $1,227.45
Men:
Tie – $125 Made in China vs. The Hill-side Tie $85 Made in New York City
Belt – $85 Made in China vs. O’Connell’s Ribbon Belt $39.95 Made in New York
Shirt – $425 Made in China vs. Todd Shelton Baxter White Shirt $124 Made in USA
Blazer – $795 Made in China vs. Anderson Little Classic Blue Blazer $179 Made in USA
Trousers – $295 Made in China vs. Ovadia & Sons Flat Front Trousers $275 Made in USA
Total: Chinese-made = $1,725 vs. American-made = $702.95, a savings of over $1,000!
In response to the overwhelming public outcry, Ralph Lauren has stated that it is committed to producing the Opening and Closing ceremony Team USA uniforms in the United States for the 2014 Olympic Games. Hopefully reshoring will bring the costs down.
Great post! As for ABC interviewing Nanette Lepore, I am slightly annoyed that they chose to speak with her. Don’t get me wrong. I love her collections and am thrilled that her pieces are made in NYC, but I was recently disappointed to find out that most of the pieces in her new Oonagh line are NOT made in USA. To be fair, some pieces are made here, but I wish she were 100% committed to American manufacturing.
Very eye-opening. You would think with team spirit in mind, the Olympics would be in favor of supporting their own. They have a thing or two to learn from you!
EXACTLY!
Love your comparisons and I won’t even mention how much better your choices look! Oh, okay…I just did.
Include some Made in America Swiftwick Socks and the ensemble would be complete!
Awesome job! I’ve been hearing from many manufacturers and designers in particular that the costs of outsourcing are increasing. That with the lack of quality control makes making products in America even more attractive. I love the alternatives you found; in fact, I think they are a lot more attractive then the designs Ralph Lauren came up with!
Thank you so much for the article and for mentioning our Classic Blue Blazer. I couldn’t have said it better myself. How Mr. Lauren could have made such an error in judgement is just incomprehensible.
And your choices don’t come with a silly polo horse on them. Good grief, they’re not all there to play polo!
Great post and comparison. As the owner of an American apparel manufacturer, I can only say what an honor and privilege it would be to be involved with the Olympics and Team USA. Companies here in the US have the design and manufacturing capabilities to do our Olympians proud. Maybe Stormy Kromer caps for the winter games?
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