american made clothes?

B

Big philly 1

Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
327
Hello, Was lookin around on other forums and came across a thread talking about American made clothing. Well, I know that i dont own but maybe 2 american made clothing products. those are my redwing boots. but i just sickens me that i have to send my money to chin to help there economy. I seen a couple links and enjoyed them....

http://www.pointerbrand.com/ProductCatalog.asp

http://www.gussetclothing.com/ link works now.
 
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that's the way of the world these days man... it is a bummer that we have to rely on it so much... the same goes for gas..:thumbdn:
 
We as Americans are our own worst enemy. We shop at discount places in order to get the best possible price and don't think about how often we replace the cheap clothing we have.

My Redwing boots cost me a good deal of cash, but they are going strong after many years of slogging through the mud. My Patagonia fleece pull-over is 20 years old and other than a couple spots where an errant spark melted the fleece, it looks great.

If you think about how many years I got out of the thing, the cost per year is very little. Can't say the same for my wife's inexpensive no-name fleece jacket that has bare patches, unraveled seams and doesn't look so good. It's only a few years old...
 
I couldn't get you link to Diamond Gusset to work.

This one worked for me http://www.gussetclothing.com/
Since they are close to home I'm going to drive down and pick up some when I return. That way I'll know how they are sized for future orders.
 
Ah, you may want to double check your Redwings again.

Unless they are older, many of their models are now made overseas. :o

I know my Irish Setters are.
Yup, China.
Still a decent boot however.
 
I have an Aerostich motorcycle riding suit made in Duluth, MN. Expensive, but worth it.

I cannot think of any other US made clothing items I have.
 
ADD said:
Ah, you may want to double check your Redwings again.

Unless they are older, many of their models are now made overseas. :o

I know my Irish Setters are.
Yup, China.
Still a decent boot however.
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I got them about ten years ago and checked that they were made in the USA. Not surprising that they moved production overseas.
 
Some RedWings are still US made, just depends on the line.

Also, Danner's are mostly a US line of boots.

Don't forget Filson, they have some US stuff left in the line-up. Sadly, you have to get into odd "boutique" type things to find US stuff a lot of times now.
 
Most of the old line Filson outdoors clothing is made here. I've had a cape cruiser coat for over 25 years, and it still looks good. My Filson merino wool sweater is over 10, and my Danner boots have been resoled twice in the 12 years I've worn them.

New Balance has 5 factories in the U.S. and they have athletic shoes made here. You'll pay more for them, but they last longer.
 
I know that at zappos.com you can browse through USA made shoes. It would be very nice if they'd add that feature for clothing as well. If they even carry any American made clothes that is.
 
How about Pendleton? All the Pendletons I have (I bought them all used so they might be old) say "made in Oregon" on them.

And man, pendletons are some great shirts! Although if I couldn't find them used I wouldn't pay the new price, I have to admit. They for for over a hundred bucks a shirt up here!

And you know, this is really the problem. I don't blame Americans for buying chinese for the most part. Look at first world labour costs! I mean it's great to keep your money in the country, but the reality is labour here is so valuable, it's very expensive to put an American (or Canadian or German for that matter) to work in a textile mill or a boot factory. My Vibergs cost about five hundred bucks a pair!

I mean I prefer my Vibergs over any boot on the planet but especially for the average construction worker making $14 an hour framing up cheap houses, I can see how it would be prohibitively expensive to pay an expert bootmaker to make them a pair of boots by hand at first world labour rates.

So the most important thing to me is that we all take advantage of the excellent opportunities in the first world and get educated or trained so we're not all in manufacturing jobs that can get shipped overseas to somewhere it really is cheap to build stuff.

I mean no matter how much it costs, you can't outsource your medical needs to India, or your silviculture needs to China. It just has to be done on-site. Okay, ramble off.
 
New Balance also fits me better, which is sometimes a problem with others.

The dumb part is, we could do clothing here for decent prices. It just gets to be a mantra with industry, to go offshore. Domestic production gives a company control over styles and quality you can't be sure of elsewhere.

I know I've gotten shirts and pants that were not quite right for my body type. Shirts especially are sometimes too short and too broad. On the other hand, that's China. I've gotten clothes marked Pakistan and Malaysia and Indonesia that fit perfectly and were great comfortable cotton. Latin American construction seems pretty good too, often of "American materials".

If we would ease up on African imports, we could get really good clothes from there, instead of routinely feeding the one, huge, less-responsive source.
 
I was looking at Filson coats in my favorite outdoor store on Sunday - I'd sure like to get one . . .

I bought a nice, wool Woolrich shirt, but even that is made in SE Asia somewhere now; still a nice shirt though.
 
My wife works at a casual clothing store in the mall and they have several lines of shirts and jeans made in the USA but they are outrageously expensive. Several of the T-shirts are right at 100 and many of the jeans are over 250. I would love to buy american but I refuse to pay that kind of money for it. Outdoor clothing that will last sure, but not for casual clothes. If I could find outdoor clothes made state side I would definitely buy it.
 
My Carhhart work pants are made in Mexico. My work uniform shirts and jacket are made in Vietnam. I've got a few items made in the USA, but sadly, not enough. A good Filson hat and just yesterday, bought a 100% wool felt fedora made in USA. I do strive to buy American whenever possible. That's a pretty tough job these days, heck, my Dell keyboard that I am using at this very moment is made in China. Have you checked any of your L.L. Bean labels lately? I have a bunch of fixed blades knives, happy to report that they are all made in USA, couldn't be happier about that.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
New Balance also fits me better, which is sometimes a problem with others.

The dumb part is, we could do clothing here for decent prices. It just gets to be a mantra with industry, to go offshore. Domestic production gives a company control over styles and quality you can't be sure of elsewhere.

I know I've gotten shirts and pants that were not quite right for my body type. Shirts especially are sometimes too short and too broad. On the other hand, that's China. I've gotten clothes marked Pakistan and Malaysia and Indonesia that fit perfectly and were great comfortable cotton. Latin American construction seems pretty good too, often of "American materials".

If we would ease up on African imports, we could get really good clothes from there, instead of routinely feeding the one, huge, less-responsive source.
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Think Levi Straus tried..very hard...to keep mfg. here in U.S.

Couldn't compete with off-shore prices, kept on losing market share, lowered profits, finally had to close their last plant in ?wanna say someplace SW, not sure?
 
You should only buy american products if they are good products, I wouldn't buy most Americans cars, because they are crap. I would buy maglite, surefire, craftsman tools etc..over overly price chinese crap any day of the week. Personally, I think that clothing and shoes are so expensive these days, that an American company could actually compete with korea and china. My New Balance running shoes cost between 70-90 dollars. North face jacket I don't want to even start talking about the prices because it makes me sick. You aren't getting value for the price you may some middle man and exec are getting all those cost saving from pimping it out to 2nd and 3rd world countries. I've had my redwings for about 15 great, if you don't mind resoling them and adding new inserts they can last a lifetime.
 
Kismet said:
Think Levi Straus tried..very hard...to keep mfg. here in U.S.

Couldn't compete with off-shore prices, kept on losing market share, lowered profits, finally had to close their last plant in ?wanna say someplace SW, not sure?
Click to expand...


Levi destroyed its brand image and they were hurting for cash thats why they shipped it overseas. If CEO and exec didn't rape the companies, you could manufacture in the u.s. and still make a profit. There was a time that made in the u.s.a meant innovation and quality. In some parts of the world made in the u.s.a. still has weight, but now the Japanese and Koreans are corning the market on innovation and quality. Its so ironic since an American was the one who taught the Japanese about quality after world war II where their products where just crap.
 
hannibal lecter spyderco said:
You should only buy american products if they are good products,
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AMEN! Buying American for the sake of buying American is paradoxically a sure way to guarantee American manufacturers grow fat and complacent. And lose in the long run.

I buy products that offer the best value, regardless of country of origin. This allows me to stretch my money to do the things I want to do, spread the wealth Adam Smith style. It's not as if this is some radical new concept. Protectionism ends up makes losers of everybody.
 
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