So the United States Olympic Committee decided to outsource their team's uniforms to China... like wtf?   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18822107

sorry but just thinking something is terribly wrong here...
maybe it's me but I feel the garment workers of the United States of America have been passed over just one too many times... yes I still look for made in USA on my clothing...

Really hoping the frigging mercenary US Olympic Committee gets slammed on this one...  it's enough to make one ashamed knowing that we can't even field our athletes in attire made in the nation who's flag they compete under...

Believe clothing stylist and designers who struggle every day to make ends meet understand what is at stake here...


made in China

That is really appalling! The Olympics is about embracing your country and showing unwavering support to your athletes. To outsource the manufacture of the uniforms to another country is disgusting - I'm sure that there are loads of American companies who would be very proud to produce the uniforms.

wtf, berets? when did we become france?

No one wears berets in France unless they're living on the countryside and are over 70 years old.

I agree, what profit breaks are they really getting from outsourcing the work? Are they that greedy or stressed for money they need to pay some chinese seamtress half of what they pay minimum wage here?

Hypocrisy at its best smh

Actually... the US doesn't have much in the way of textile mills or garment manufacturers left.... ESPECIALLY if you have to be wary of "sweatshops".

It IS sad.

And personally... I think the design is strangely retro, stuffy, and boring.

Too bad.

It occurred to me... to remind everyone. This is the HMS forum. Discussing the design is fine. Discussing the current state of the American garment industry is okay. But if you want to discuss the politics of the situation, please don't... head for the Soapbox instead .

Thanks!

I hope this is sufficiently in context Rich..

Basically a sad majority of garments labeled made in the USA or the UK or whatever, are still outsourced to cheaper countries, but they get around the labeling issue by having some small part of the finishing done in the named country (final buttons, labels sewn on etc). A person I know worked in a customs clearing house where she saw the shady practices of the larger corporations who would also bundle very large orders together and insist on 24 hour turn around, and while one thing in the bundle may well have been made in the USA/UK, the rest of the bundle definitely wasn't.

In this case, some investigatory journalist has followed the chain to its source since the Olympics is a hot topic this year. I actually don't object to the outsourcing, I object to sweatshops and unfair working conditions and pay. If the workers are paid a fair living wage and are treated well, then I would have no complaints.

The garment industry in the US is in a terrible state. I have many friends who own clothing companies and can not find qualified US contractors to produce their garments. The good contractors are already swamped with work and cannot take any further jobs. We need a renaissance of this industry. The demand is there for domestically produced products and people need the jobs, we just need more qualified entrepreneurs in the field of production.