The Reaction
Ok, apparently, everyone is just as pissed as I am about these Chinese-made, Ralph Lauren Olympic uniforms. In today's Times, it says Ralph Lauren has made a concession and will make the 2014 olympic uniforms in the US.
Anyone else's reaction to that?
Mine?
Not good enough!
If I were an olympic athlete, I would flat out refuse to wear these uniforms. Senator Harry Reid has already said the USOC should be, "ashamed of themselves". Then USOC CEO Scott Blackmun goes on record and says, "We are absolutely committed to working with our sponsors to ensure that the concerns are voiced and addressed".
I don't buy that, not for one minute.
If the USOC were committed to supporting its own country, they would have never made a deal with a clothing manufacturer that makes their clothes in China. Ooh, just because it's Ralph Lauren, we can skimp on the integrity? Just because we can say, "oh, did you know Ralph Lauren designed these uniforms?". That picture in my head could not be more obnoxious if they were eating a caviar cracker and wearing a monacle.
Is this what we are as a nation?
A bunch of lemmings that will sell out for the latest fashion trend. If Kim Kardashian wears it, I must wear it; don't care if it was made by a horse-whipped adolescent girl. We ARE the Roman Empire right now. Not the blossoming, growing Roman Empire of the last few BC centuries, but the crumbling, over-extended, flagging empire of the thrid and fourth century AD; the Roman Empire right before the Goths invaded. We need to call an about-face right now. The USOC needs to do something right now.
Their concession, at least what they say they are going to do, is make the 2014 olympic uniforms in the United States. Big whoop! Firstly, the "Winter Games" are not even the REAL olympics in the first place. No ancient Greek warrior was ever snowboarding in a drained, frozen swimming pool. The Winter Games are the sideshow olympics, not bereft of athletic feats, but deifinitely the red-headed step child of the Summer Olympics.
The USOC contends that it is too late to make new uniforms, I say that is a lie. If they really wanted to do it, if the pressure was really on to get USA-made uniforms, it would happen. Why in 2014 are we willing to settle for this? Does Ralph Lauren have factories over here they could use? Hmmnn. Will they build a new factory over here before 2014? Will they rent an existing one? My next obvious question is why didn't they do it THIS time? I bet I know why. Because Ralph Lauren wants to keep their manufacturing in China. I bet they open a factory in Michigan or someplace, print the 2014 uniforms there and then evacuate right back to Shang-dong or wherever the heck their sweatshops, ahem, factories are in China.
The designs are ridiculous, too. I'm looking at a photo of some of the athletes wearing their threads. The designer got confused and landed somewhere in between a Navy shipmate, a green-beret and an Ivy-League student. Seriously, a beret with a sport coat. I'm not kidding, check them out. They are holding a big USA flag in the picture. I wonder where it was made.
You can see them, here, http://www.ralphlauren.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=12817133&cp=12817133.13006509&ab=global_usolympic
Well, here it is folks, our first chance to stand together.
Let's boycott Ralph Lauren clothing until they open a factory in the US. This will not be a problem for me but anyone else out there that might consider a Ralph Lauren item, I implore you, put it down. Even go with another named designer for the time being. Let's focus our ire at Ralph Lauren and the USOC. Get your friends, family, everyone we can together on this. We will also boycott any Chinese-made US Olympic gear. Any hat, shirt or whatever you see to buy in support of US olympians, make sure it ain't made in China.
Also, let's make our voices heard.
Here is the main email address for the USOC, info@usoc.org
And here is the url address to send an email to Ralph Lauren, http://www.ralphlauren.com/helpdesk/index.jsp?display=store&subdisplay=contact&ab=footer_emailus
Let's get after them, people. Let's take our country back!
Raequel Gadsden
4:09 pm on Saturday, July 14, 2012
I believe that the Olympic uniforms should be made in the USA. I will pay attention if I decide to purchase Olympic gear.
John Stanley
8:59 pm on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Count me in! Not only will I not buy any USA Olympic gear made overseas, I will also stop buying the Ralph Lauren shirts and slacks that I have worn for work for years. God Bless the USA!
Steven Warrener
11:56 pm on Saturday, July 14, 2012
This isn't even a full clothing line. It is just a couple hundred outfits and they can't even make them in America. Give me a sewing machine and I will do it myself. Although the sewing machine will probably also be made in China :(.
Ann Diller
8:49 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
So sad!! A couple hundred outfits and we still manage to have the work done overseas. There are many American designers who would love to had the opportunity to design and use American fabrics for this job. Yet again it goes to China!
Ryan Fowler
10:54 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
To Steven
No matter how u make them, they will still be made in China...since u live in China. We should be careful not to make geography synonymous with fair business practices and also to make clear that the real beef is with unfair business practices, not with nearly a third of the ppl in the world. Some ppl are very impressionable and could receive the wrong message. This could be dangerous. Is this a matter of national pride or humanity or both? I could use clarification.
John Stanley
5:39 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
For me, I understand the economics of manufacturing overseas; I have no beef with the countries who gladly take the work. I love this country and am proud to be an American!
Carty Dougherty
8:56 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
I too understand the economics of manufacturing overseas; my company owns a textile factory in the Philippines. The reason American companies choose to manufacture overseas is simple: the labor is cheaper. What is interesting, though, is that shipping, when not done on bulk freight, can inflate the cost of such manufacturing almost to the point of the cost of an American-made good. So why do big companies keep their manufacturing overseas? The margins, while small, are slightly better if the company keeps manufacturing overseas and uses freight shipping effectively. The primary reason that American companies will not manufacture stateside is the need to keep costs competitive to continue providing a product that the market can afford.
With that said, big names like Ralph Lauren and Nike have a lot of brand clout, and can (and do!) charge accordingly when selling off their stock. A designer-brand shirt that is made in Myanmar will sell for 150% to 300% more than the exact same shirt, from the same source manufacturer, without the designer label. Why didn't Ralph Lauren do the American thing and knock the brand-inflation off of the contract price, take a smaller margin, and manufacture on US soil? Ralph Lauren would have still turned a profit, and we could be proud of what our Olympians will be wearing.
John Stanley
9:40 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Great post Carty! Thank you for your insight!
Andy Warrener
10:01 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Wow, thanks everybody for chiming in. I feel like I'm talking to nobody sometimes. It's nice to know you're out there. Please sign up for updates to my blog. I have a new one already up there.
Andy Warrener
10:34 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Real quick to address Cart's comment.
My whole gist with this blog is that we, as consumers can dictate that if we act together. We don't have to play to the mercy of what tariffs we charge China and what tariffs they charge us. We don't have to bite our nails over whether politrickans can negotiate a better corporate tax rate. We don't have to wait around for the government to allow or disallow it to happen. It's not like we have a bunch of legal barriers to accomplish our goals. All we need to do is not buy something or if not to buy something, make a conscious choice about everything you buy. We can tell them that it's more profitable for them to manufacture their goods here, we can support ones that do.
To address your second point about brand name, I have to quote the CEO of Elizabethan Theatre, William Shakespeare, "...a rose by any other name would smell as sweet".
But seriously, what exactly does that name stand for? That Nike, that Ralph Lauren, what does that name mean to people. It means very little to me, certainly not quality.
Andy Warrener
10:35 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
"Carty's comment"
Geez, I proofread the whole comment and skip the first line of it, sorry.
John Majeski
9:06 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Thanks to all for weighing in on our site!