Would you pay an extra $30 for a pair of jeans made in the USA? With fabric from Cone Denim’s White Oak Mill in NC, and fabrication facilities in Tennessee and California?
Many customers have said yes with their dollars.
In 2012, Lucky Brand started offering American-made denim, with fits identical to its foreign-made styles, but with higher price tags.
Now, consumer demands for the Made in USA line have caused Lucky to increase orders for the jeans. Lucky currently employs 40 Americans exclusively for its Made in USA line.
–
Source: The Tennessean’s Shopping Diva, by Cathi Aycock
New England Footwear, New Balance and Wolverine are all pushing Made in USA production. The U.S. government might pass a bill soon that would require the military to be outfitted with Made in USA sneakers, meaning a hefty contract could be up for grabs for companies who make athletic shoes in the USA.
New England Footwear wants to bring its manufacturing back to New Hampshire.
New Balance continues its campaign to be the the premiere Made in USA athletic shoe brand. The brand also just announced it will be producing a line of apparel in the USA.
Wolverine pays homage to its 125-year history as an American brand.
–
Shop 100% Made in USA products at www.madecollection.com
Walmart’s home office in Bentonville, Arkansas, photo by Brandon Rush
Arkansas company Redman & Associates will open a new plant and hire 74 workers to make battery-powered toy cars exclusively for Walmart. The workers will make an average of $18.55 an hour.
CEO of Redman & Associates Mel Redman is also the former Senior Vice President of Operations at Walmart. Both Redman & Associates and Walmart are headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Redman says the new jobs will generate $3 million for the Northwest Arkansas economy. By 2016, he plans to move all production of the toy cars back to the U.S. from China, where he has previously made all 600,000 toys.
Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe awarded Redman’s company $2 million to go toward the insourcing effort, and the company will also be eligible for certain income tax credits and sales tax refunds. “This is an example of when government and business get together … this thing just takes off,” Redman said.
Read the full story on Arkansas Business, by Associated Press.
–
Shop American-made and see how many jobs your purchase supports at www.madecollection.com.
Our Chief Creative Officer Dave Schiff spoke on a SXSW Eco panel today in Austin, TX on The Science of Inspiring Good Behavior. Also on the panel were Catherine Davis, president of Vizeum Americas, Joey Bergstein, Chief Marketing Officer of Seventh Generation, and Morgan Clendaniel, editor of Fast Company’s Co.Exist.
SUMMARY FROM SXSW ECO:
“In an increasingly complex and fast-paced world full of stressors it’s no surprise that people are seeking simpler, cleaner, and healthier lifestyles, including eco-friendly, pure products. While recent research indicates that most Americans care about buying products from companies that do good in the world, good intentions will only take you so far. Empowering sustainability and social good is no simple task, and it goes far beyond responsible purchasing - it requires true behavior change.
So how do you reverse-engineer a person, family or company’s habits? How can you shift the mindset from intention to action? How do we inspire positive action at every step of the way - from using less water, to purchasing environmentally-friendly products, to choosing energy-efficient transportation options and appliances? Eco-friendly is no longer a status symbol - being sustainable means adopting lifestyle changes that contribute to social good.”
Read more & see other scheduled panels here.
–
For every $1 spent on American-made products, $1.40 is added to the U.S. economy. Shop American-made now.
“When people think manufacturing, they think of some scene from ‘Lord of the Rings,’ where people are over anvils with hammers and beating metal and burning trees in the dark cave,” says Matt Chwierut, San Jose’s economic development innovation officer.
Impressions like this led a conglomeration of manufacturing groups to declare a new holiday: National Manufacturing Day, which is October 4, 2013. Their goal is a rebranding effort. They want the general public to update their views on manufacturing and become familiar with the following facts:
1) Manufacturing is alive in the U.S.
2) Manufacturing is producing jobs: both entry-level and highly-skilled, high-paying positions that involve engineering, design, computer programming and supply chain logistics.
“Manufacturing conjures up images of places like 1950s Detroit and Pittsburgh and 2013 Shenzhen, China,” wrote Mike Cassidy for Vallejo, California’s Times-Herald Local News. “But production work accounts for 17% of the jobs in [Silicon Valley], and the manufacturing plants here produce some of the world’s most complex and rapidly evolving products and components.”
“Silicon Valley’s plants are much more likely to look like a sparkling laboratory or a prototyping shop,” adds Chwierut.
Silicon Valley is celebrating the new holiday. This week, the Valley has hosted a series of factory tours & promotions aimed at students.
“We’re really interested in developing this new generation of the workforce,” says Gene Russell, CEO of San Ramon-based Manex.
Read the full article on the Vallejo, CA Times-Herald, written by Mike Cassidy.
–
Support American manufacturers by shopping American-Made.
First developed in France, Chambray’s good looks and durability soon made it an American classic. In fact, it was standard issue for U.S. Navy uniforms from 1901 through World War II. But as American as Chambray shirts are, it’s hard to find any that are American made. Enter our friends at Stock Mfg. Co. Stock’s 45-year-old factory, on the west side of Chicago, is a mil-spec certified facility, meaning that they pay the same attention to detail and quality required for making U.S. military gear. The Stock x Made Chambray Shirt features double chest pockets, a collar that buttons down, white contrast stitching, a box-pleated back, fat-felled seams throughout, and tortoise shell buttons. If you need to roll up your sleeves and get things done, and you want to look good doing it, there’s no better shirt on earth.
PARTICIPATION FROM THE MADE IN USA COMMUNITY:
Back in April, we asked you if you’d rather us make a Chambray Button-Down Shirt or an Oxford Button-Down Shirt. Here are the results:
So we got to work. After collaborating with Stock Mfg. Co. on the design, we gave you another choice: tortoise shell or wooden buttons.
PRE-ORDERING TO BEGIN IN OCTOBER.
We expect to ship our small, first run of the shirts in November 2013. Stay tuned to www.madecollection.com to be the first to have one, as pre-ordering will open in mid-October.
ABOUT STOCK MFG.
Stock Mfg. Co. aims to be a hub for American manufacturing, quality craftsmanship, and innovative collaboration. They make premium American-made clothing and accessories out of their 45-year-old factory on the west side of Chicago, while fostering an environment of collaboration and transparency second to none in the garment industry. They collaborate with the most exciting talent in fashion, and then they let the public decide what gets made. As a mil-spec-certified facility, Stock’s attention to detail and quality is so high it meets the standards required for making US Military gear. They are committed not just to producing quality products in America, but also to creating jobs and influencing the fashion world in a positive way.
The Glendale neighborhood in Queens, NY will host a “Make it in America” expo this Saturday, September 28th at the Shops at Atlas Park, 80-00 Cooper Ave. The event will go from 2-5 p.m.
New York Congresswoman Grace Meng says that the expo will be mainly geared toward American-owned companies, but that local residents are absolutely encouraged to come check it out.
New York bike company Worksman Cycles will be one of the participants.
“We’re just trying to get the word out about who we are, and that we make our bikes in New York,” said Worksman President Wayne Sosin. “We have to jumpstart the economy, and the best way to do it is to support local and American businesses.”
Read the full article in the New York Daily News, written by Clare Trapasso.
–
Shop the best American Made products at www.madecollection.com.
Photo: Leonard Detrick for the New York Daily News
New York’s leaders are talking about supporting American manufacturing more when they build infrastructure. Last week, representatives from the United Steelworkers (USW), the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) and the New York public transportation system met at the New York governor’s office to talk about opportunities.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing 850,000 workers. USW International President Leo W. Gerard had spoken previously with the chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) about the Chinese steel used for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
“We were at wits end with the contract awarded earlier this year to state-owned China steel and their fabricators for upper deck replacement of the Verrazano Bridge that bypassed American workers,” said Gerard. “So we welcomed a face-to-face agenda on what to do about it.”
The meeting was just a start, but it was encouraging for at least some of USW: “We came away encouraged by their willingness to share information and their offer to meet on a regular basis,” said John Shinn, one of USW’s New York directors.
The New York officials expressed enthusiasm for supporting American steel, but their main hesitation in the past has been price. Most parties agreed that increasing cost waivers on domestic steel would help level the playing field, which would be on lawmakers.
Some lawmakers, however, think that the decision should transcend price. This summer, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) urged the MTA: “If we continue to source to Chinese companies based entirely on bid pricing, they will always win – with the level of government support and overproduction, it’s impossible to beat their prices. This is causing a global race to the bottom on steel prices, a budding environmental catastrophe and the threatening of steel production not just in the U.S., but worldwide.”