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Why not made in USA?

We get asked this almost daily. A number of people get rather agitated when told many of our products are not made in America- especially when it comes to reproductions of US military gear and uniforms. Sometimes it gets pretty funny- threatening to expose us for fraudulent advertising because the "US" in "US M1943 Field Jacket" means we're claiming it's made in America or the "USA Made Items" tab on our navigation bar is obviously put there for deceit. When we point out that the item in question has "imported" in the description...."you just put it there! It wasn't there a minute ago!!!"

As to the question at hand, the short, honest, answers are, one it's far too expensive, and two, in many cases it's no longer possible to do at any price. The upside is that, with detailed specifications, the companies on the other side of the Pacific are perfectly capable of making clothing of equal (or better) quality than what we can do here- and for a lot less.

I've made reproductions for 30 years. I wish things were otherwise, that made in USA still meant what it once did, but I deal with reality every day, so here's how it is.

Cost: Aside from a vocal minority, most people appear to realize that the factor that drove our garment industry to its grave was cost. Wages in Asian sewing factories average about 10% of those in the USA. Currently, overhead (hourly cost: wages + rent + utilities etc) is $2.50 per hour. In our shop it's about $25.00 per hour.

This effects both the assembly of the garments themselves, as well as the cost to weave, finish and dye the fabrics. This translates to an immense per garment cost difference, with the gap widening exponentially as the labor time increases for complex items.

Typically, the same article made here will have to retail for 300% more than the identical item made "over there". Those things that can be made quickly, like t-shirts, have a smaller price disparity while others, like field jackets or German tunics will have a far greater price gap. Just to sew a German tunic will cost us $200-300 in the US. In China the same job can be done for $25 or less.

Feasibility is no longer there: The garment industry largely fled our country 25 years ago. As they left, the supporting industries gradually followed or closed due to lack of customers. This includes sewing equipment sales and service, thread suppliers, button & zipper firms, dyers & finishers, camouflage printers and the mills that make the fabrics. As of now, 2020, we can only acquire one or two types of the fabrics we use from American mills- and one of those told us that they will likely close down soon. This means, that to have truly American made items that are sewn and sourced in this country (as people expect the term to mean) is nearly impossible.

They're honestly as good or better: Over the past 10 years, the foreign contractors have met and exceeded the quality we once had here. Many mills invested in the best German, Italian and American weaving machinery. The sewing plants have top quality sewing and cutting equipment, and technicians trained in the US and EU. Their dyeing and color matching in particular are better than what we used to get from the plants in New England. (I suspect tight EPA regulations for dyes and chemicals may have been a factor.)

Our biggest hurdles now are convincing them not to make any "improvements" in the garments and persuading them to do historically correct things that, in their eyes, amount to intentionally defective quality such as with printing German camo.

The most telling opinions were from the girls in our factory. Several have been sewing for over 50 years. They spot-check the shipments of imported garments and make minor repairs when or if necessary. Lately, all they have had to say about what's come in is "Darn they make nice stuff. This is better than what we made." This is no joke or exaggeration.

We still make many things here- for now: When it's possible, and financially viable, we do make it (or have it made) in this country. But we're constrained by more realities than simply material availability and labor cost, so how long this will continue I honestly don't know. Our largest contractor is struggling to remain staffed after instituting drug testing, another webbing supplier just went under, and mortality is threatening us. Half of our sewing staff is 70+, and the only two sewing machine mechanics left in our region are both nearly 80. Finding replacements is proving a quest of biblical proportions.