Farr West Lingerie

Thanks to the folks over at Style Bistro for a post about 10 lingerie brands that are made in the U.S.A. Great to see Made in USA can be sexy!

According to a recent Reuters report a number of factors are driving more companies away from Asia,  including rising wages, surging fuel prices, and the complexity of transporting goods across the Pacific.

According to Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist at the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI- “What you’re starting to see is the economics shifting more into the United States’ favor regarding sourcing from the United States versus sourcing from a low-cost country.”

One of the biggest reasons why is the subpar economic growth in the United States versus in Asia is helping its manufacturers to close the cost gap on their foreign rivals. China’s inflation rate hit 5.5 percent in May, well ahead of the United States’ 3.6 percent headline rate. With Chinese wages rising at 15 to 20 percent per year, the labor costs of manufacturing in the two countries could pull even by 2015, as we reported a few months ago. Rising oil prices, which drive up the cost of shipping goods by boat or plane, are also eating in to China’s edge.

Automation also helps tilt the balance toward the United States. For example, at Master Lock in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, they can produce 24,000 locks a day with about one-sixth the number of workers needed by the company’s Chinese suppliers and rivals because of better machines and efficiency.

In addition, a recent American Express study found that consumers like products made in America, up 5 percentage points from 2008, and 65% say they try to buy U.S. brands whenever possible, a 3 percentage point gain over 2008.

A great read in Bloomberg/Businessweek yesterday about luxury brands that are swaying customers with Made in USA products. All of us know the majority of companies that they feature- Brooks Brothers, Tiffany, Joseph Abboud, etc. One brand that may surprise everyone, The Row, the high end fashion line from The Olson twins, makes their clothes in New York City and Los Angeles. In fact, most Americans don’t realize that most fashion brands make clothes in the fashion districts in NYC and Los Angeles. Do you think a Hollywood star wants their hand sewn gown for the Academy Awards made in Vietnam? The Olson Twins’ brand has found favor with the likes of Michelle Obama and actress Julianne Moore. The brand also got a nomination this year for a new talent award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

An example of products that don't need to be made here

We were linked to a Consumerist post yesterday that highlighted a company called A.S. Sutton & Sons selling bibs that say “Made in America.” They got worked up because the bibs are actually Made in China. We do not see the big deal. Although this story may be ironic, we continue to stress that this is the wrong way to frame the discussion. It makes no difference where cheap goods are made. Let the Chinese make inexpensive items, while we focus on items that create high paying jobs here in America.

Of course, you didn’t need a million dollar study from BCG to know this. If America were to make the tax structure more advantageous and eliminate healthcare and other costs, we would be far and away the first choice amongst executives. If you added a true valuation for the Yuan, versus the artificial valuation that their policy makers have been trying to maintain for years, the results would be even more dramatic.

Let's hope the famed astronaut ice cream sold at the Smithsonian isn't made in China too!

Not surprisingly, it was learned by an Associated Press reporter this week that most of the cheap trinkets on the shelves of the gift shop of the Smithsonian are made in China…Well, duh, there is a reason why that George Washington bobblehead breaks the minute his head shakes twice.

To help alleviate the problem Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, D-W.Va.  has introduced a bill that would require all items sold in any of the Smithsonian’s 30 stores, located in 19 museums and galleries and its zoo, to be made in the United States. If the Smithsonian were to violate the terms of the legislation, it would lose its federal funding.

According to the Associated Press article, a Smithsonian spokeswoman said the average gift shop visitor buys two items and spends $20. If these items were to be made in America the cost would be about twice as much, making them too costly for most visitors and hurting the museum’s profit margins. Last year, the museum gift shop at the Smithsonian made an astounding $9 Million.

We believe that Representative Rahall is well intentioned but is barking up the wrong tree. We do not want to produce cheap trinkets and tchochkes in America. What we need to do is create the high paying jobs of tomorrow that will keep the country thriving, not jobs producing goods that belong in an episode of NBC’s Outsourced, that pay minimum wage. Keep the plastic Teddy Roosevelt keychain manufacturing in China, and lets create some companies that TR would be truly proud of here at home.

Is something like this in the works from Sams Clan? Many of you have asked this same question to us in the past. We intend to have badges that our users can place on their site up soon.