While we are aiding and abetting foreign countries to make our T-shirts, shoes, undies, tires, lamps,food,meds,carparts, lets take a break.
Our nation could use some revival in the area of our everyday purchases. Nothing would happen overnight, but a little more purchases of American made products here and there would help. So here is alist.
Still made in the USA. Yes we could start a revival to buy American, its a thought.
Happy Thanksgiving you all.......................
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American manufacturing lost almost 6 million jobs between 2000 and 2010. “Offshoring” became a buzzword with the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. But the more recent hemorrhaging of jobs was due in large part to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, notes Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. A decade of BLS data reveals heavy job losses across more than a dozen manufacturing sectors, including apparel and textiles, electrical equipment, iron and steel production, computers, glass, and leather tanning and finishing.
Why are foreign nations so appealing to manufacturers? Simple economics, for starters. In 2010, compensation costs (wages and benefits) for manufacturing jobs in the U.S. were $34.74 per hour on average, according to the BLS. That’s lower than in 13 northern and western European countries, but far higher than costs in China: $1.36 per hour (in 2008), based on BLS estimates. Another manufacturing powerhouse, India, has even lower hourly compensation costs than China.
But depending on the manufacturing sector, labor may account for only a small fraction of operating costs. So China may offer manufacturers “goodie packages” to relocate, including tax breaks, low-cost land rental, and reduced utility costs, according to Hal Sirkin, a senior partner with global-management consultants Boston Consulting Group. In exchange, U.S. companies might be required to take on local companies as business partners or cut other deals with area businesses or municipalities.
Stihl chain saw
The appeal of foreign countries may wane, Sirkin says. “China gets more expensive every year. By 2015, Chinese wages will average $6.15 per hour, still well below the U.S. minimum wage, but American worker productivity is significantly higher. When you consider all the factors, the true cost to manufacture goods from China will be only about 10 percent cheaper than to make them domestically in another few years.”
National security issues and an iffy supply chain are also concerns. “Natural disasters such as the 2011 tsunami in Japan can disrupt the product pipeline, leading to shortages of parts, products, and long shipping delays,” says John Hoffecker, a managing director of global business consultants AlixPartners in New York. By 2015, the Boston Consulting Group predicts, cost advantages (in electricity, natural gas, and labor) over Japan and several European countries in a range of industries will give U.S. exports a big boost. As a result, the group says, the U.S. could add as many as 2.5 million to 5 million manufacturing jobs by the end of the decade.
Jeff Faux, a distinguished fellow of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., is not sanguine about the nature of those jobs. “When you think it through,” he says, “our default policy to compete in the global economy over the long run is to lower the wages and benefits of American workers, and no one at the top will admit that. There’s no question a few jobs are coming back. However, they’re jobs that once paid $22 per hour and are now paying $12. Globalization isn’t the problem. The problem is that we started to accelerate the opening of U.S. markets to foreign goods, but without preparing our workers for the brutalization of competition. For 30 years leaders have said we need to train and upgrade the skills of American workers, but it needs to be done before signing these trade agreements, not after the fact.”
Wolf range
Making it in America
Still, it’s a stretch to say, as is commonly heard, that the U.S. doesn’t make anything anymore. In fact, Sirkin says, the U.S. makes about three-quarters of all the manufactured goods (including components) it consumes. The chemical and plastics industries are thriving, thanks to declining natural gas prices, and foreign automakers including BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, and Volkswagen have opened plants in the U.S. Master Lock returned (“onshored” or “insourced” in labor-speak) 100 union jobs to its Milwaukee lock factory. Among the companies that have dug in their heels and continued to manufacture domestically is Lenox, which says it’s the only maker of fine bone china in the U.S.
Some companies are bucking the outsourcing trend even in industries that have largely fled the U.S.: large appliances, electronics, and apparel.
Appliances. In 2000, Michigan-based Whirlpool manufactured most of its front-loading washers in Germany. Now the company is in the midst of making a five-year, $1 billion investment in U.S.-based plants, facilities, and equipment. Of the products Whirlpool sells in the U.S., it makes 80 percent in U.S. plants. And it continues to ramp up production of front-loaders in Ohio, where it already makes dryers, dishwashers, freezers, and top-loaders.
“On the one hand, U.S. labor costs are often higher than in other countries,” says Casey Tubman, Whirlpool’s general manager of cleaning. “But when you look at the higher productivity for American workers and consider the fact that it’s very expensive to ship something as big as a refrigerator or washer, we can quickly make up those costs.”
Last year, KitchenAid returned the manufacture of hand mixers from China to the U.S., and GE opened two factories in Kentucky to make hot-water heaters and refrigerators. A spokesman for Sears told us that “through our manufacturing partner, Electrolux, more than 1,200 new American jobs will be created at a plant being built in Memphis.”
There should be plenty of demand if the industry does come back. About a third of respondents to our survey said they’d tried to buy U.S.-made appliances during the past year. And more than half of respondents perceived such appliances as having much or somewhat better quality than those made abroad.
Pendleton Portland Collection blanket
Electronics. Few TVs, cell phones, or digital cameras are made in America, but in December, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Next year, we will do one of our existing Mac lines in the United States.” China-based Lenovo, the world’s second-largest personal computer maker, announced last October that it would start making some PCs in North Carolina, bucking a trend “that has seen electronics manufacturing jobs migrate overseas for more than two decades,” the company said. And Element Electronics, an American company, has been assembling LCD TVs in its Detroit factory since January 2012. The company says that opting for domestic production was “an emotional decision . . . maybe even a patriotic choice.”
Apparel. The domestic industry has been scorched by job losses because of plentiful and cheap labor overseas. More than 90 percent of clothes and shoes sold in America are made elsewhere, according to Jack Plunkett of Houston-based Plunkett Research. Still, the industry is gaining traction in the U.S. There’s growth among designers with output too small to attract the interest of international manufacturers, and among those who simply want to be part of a Made in America movement. And as you'll read in "American Made, But Well Made?" even some big names are offering at least a limited assortment of American-made garments and accessories.
To build on the momentum, President Obama, through the departments of Commerce and Labor, last fall launched the “Make It in America” challenge, offering $40 million in grants to applicants who come up with the best proposals to encourage “insourcing,” spur foreign investment, and expand job opportunities through employee training programs.
Close to home—mostly
Here’s a sampling of companies that make or assemble at least some of their products in the U.S. Note that a company’s entire output isn’t necessarily American-made. And some primarily American companies may have manufacturing facilities in more than one country to meet demand overseas.
Product
Companies
Apparel and accessories
• Allen Edmonds shoes
• American Apparel
• Chippewa boots
• Filson apparel
• Kepner Scott children’s shoes
• Pendleton woolens (the Portland Collection and wool blankets and throws)
• Stetson hats
• True Religion and Texas jeans
• Wigwam socks
Housewares
• All-Clad, Lodge, and Nordic Ware cookware
• Bunn coffeemakers
• Dacor
• DCS
• Harden Furniture
• Kirby and Oreck vacuum cleaners
• Lasko (mostly fans)
• Pyrex glassware
• Sub-Zero refrigerators
• Viking and Wolf ranges
Tools and home equipment
• Briggs & Stratton mower and tractor engines
• Channellock and Moody hand tools
• Maglite flashlights
• Purdy paintbrushes and rollers
• Shop-Vac wet-and-dry vacuum cleaners
• Stihl gasoline-powered equipment
Others
• Airstream trailers
• Annin flags
• Crayola crayons
• Gibson and Martin guitars
• Hillerich & Bradsby (Louisville Slugger wooden bats)
• Little Tikes and K’Nex toys
• Sharpie markers
• Steinway pianos
• Wilson sporting goods (NFL footballs)
Although looking for U.S.-made products is important to most Americans, our national survey found that other corporate behavior matters at least as much. We asked respondents, "All things being equal, would you be more likely, less likely, or neither to buy from a company that . . . "
More likely Less likely Neither
gives back to the local community 92% 2% 6%
treats its workers well 90 4 7
expresses public support for causes you believe in 82 5 13
engages in environmentally friendly practices 79 7 14
is American, not foreign 78 6 17
has manufacturing plants in your home state 75 7 18
American made, but well made?
Respondents to our survey praised the quality of U.S.-made products: 61 percent said that U.S. clothing and shoes were of better quality than foreign goods (34 percent said “much better” and 27 percent said “somewhat better”). Just 5 percent said American-crafted clothing or shoes were of worse quality. And almost 60 percent of Americans said they had tried to buy U.S.-made clothing or shoes within the past year. No wonder more and more companies are adding at least a few U.S.-made items to their product lines. But no product is worth your hard-earned dollars if it’s poorly made. For a snapshot of how American-made products measure up, we bought one sample of six products from big brands and asked our experts to assess their quality. Price is what we paid.
Brooks Brothers cotton sport shirt, $84
Made in America from long-staple Egyptian cotton woven in Italy, the fabric is smooth, strong, and unlikely to pill. (Egyptian cotton is typical in fine sheets and shirts.) Brooks Brothers sweated the small stuff, and the shirt has impeccable details: The button holes are perfect, the collar has interfacing that makes it “stand up and be noticed,” our expert said; the striped fabric on the back of the shirt lines up with the yoke, and the yoke lines up with the collar (“like a good wallpaper job,” our expert noted). There are gussets on the side of the tail and small pleats in the sleeve to help resist accidental tears. The shirt also comes with two extra buttons, one for the placket and another for the collar. Our only nitpick: a few loose threads.
Bottom line. “It’s a well-made, high-quality shirt,” our expert said, “with features that help it resist wear and touches you’d expect from a tailor.”
Lands’ End ragg socks, $30
These thick casual socks (made in Osage, Iowa) are multicolored, as the name “ragg” implies. They’re 66 percent cotton, 28 percent wool, 5 percent nylon, and 1 percent spandex. The heel and toe are densely knit to keep those areas from wearing out; a bit of spandex in the heel and toe adds strength. Elastic throughout helps the socks stretch and retain their shape over time. But a raised seam across the top of the toe could irritate the foot and give a hiker blisters. Better socks have a smooth seam. Other drawbacks: chaff in the wool (the processor didn’t eliminate all field debris after the sheep was sheared), loose threads, and sloppy finishing at the top of the ankle.
Bottom line. “Construction could be better, and you’d expect higher wool content for the price,” our expert said.
L.L.Bean women’s braided leather belt, $35
The leather isn’t butter-soft, but it’s fine for a belt. The braids are machine made, and the belt (made in California) features simple, flat-cut leather with unfinished edges that could abrade over time. The braid’s ends were taped before sewing and double backstitched to create sturdier seams. The sewing is neat. The buckle components fit together nicely, and the metal prong that slips into the hole is well finished, so it’s unlikely to snag on other materials.
Bottom line. “It’s well made overall,” our expert said, “and decent for the price.”
New Balance 587 running shoe, $115
It looks well built, with double-stitching at most joints and good adhesion between the sole and upper, but the synthetic materials seem cheap. The shoe feels very stiff, and inflexible materials could result in unusual wear. Because the materials aren’t porous, the shoe is likely to retain heat. It’s also somewhat heavier than many of today’s running shoes, which tend to be very light. The company’s plants are in Maine and Massachusetts.
Bottom line. “The shoes appear well made but are very stiff and use crude-looking materials,” our expert said. “For the money, there are better choices.”
Orvis cropped cotton pants for women, $54
They’re made (in California) of a stretchy jersey knit, like T-shirt fabric but denser. The two pockets aren’t pocket bags but are instead a single piece of fabric folded over itself—a cheaper design. The pants have an elastic waistband, a bar tack at each pocket to help prevent ripping, a T-shirt-style hem, and serged stitching that’s reinforced at seams to prevent unraveling. Sewing at the crotch and hem is neat, but hanging threads as long as 4 inches could snag.
Bottom line. “The fabric is nice, but the pants seem pricey for what they are,” our expert said.
Woolrich vintage throw, $129
On one side, this blanket (made in Woolrich, Pa.) is 84 percent wool and 16 percent nylon; on the other, it’s nubby polyester and acrylic sherpa fleece. The fleece side is a stretchy double knit with a fuzzy texture to counterbalance the roughness of the wool on the flip side. It has an old-fashioned look, and the big, loopy chain stitch around the edge adds to the hand-sewn feeling, though it’s made by machine, as is the rest of the blanket. If the edge were to wear out, the chain stitch would unravel, but it’s purely decorative, so the blanket would stay intact. The sides are actually held together with a conventional serged seam that’s concealed from view.
Bottom line. “It’s a classic,” our expert said. “Good fabric choices and construction details mean it’s something you’ll have for a very long time.”
Car wars: Comparing pedigrees
Most vehicles are multinational, even those with iconic American nameplates, and many imports are surprisingly red, white, and blue. Case in point: The Chevrolet Spark (below left) and Toyota Sienna (below right). Only 10 percent of the Chevy’s parts are American or Canadian; more than 75 percent (including the engine) are from Korea, where the vehicle is assembled, and the automatic transmission is made in Japan. By contrast, 75 percent of the Sienna (including its engine) is American. It’s assembled in Indiana.
We know those facts because the American Automobile Labeling Act requires passenger vehicles, pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans to bear labels specifying the value of their U.S. and Canadian parts (as a percentage of the total value of all car parts), the country of assembly, and the country of origin of the engine and transmission. That information is typically on the vehicle’s window stick
Our nation could use some revival in the area of our everyday purchases. Nothing would happen overnight, but a little more purchases of American made products here and there would help. So here is alist.
Still made in the USA. Yes we could start a revival to buy American, its a thought.
Happy Thanksgiving you all.......................
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American manufacturing lost almost 6 million jobs between 2000 and 2010. “Offshoring” became a buzzword with the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. But the more recent hemorrhaging of jobs was due in large part to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, notes Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. A decade of BLS data reveals heavy job losses across more than a dozen manufacturing sectors, including apparel and textiles, electrical equipment, iron and steel production, computers, glass, and leather tanning and finishing.
Why are foreign nations so appealing to manufacturers? Simple economics, for starters. In 2010, compensation costs (wages and benefits) for manufacturing jobs in the U.S. were $34.74 per hour on average, according to the BLS. That’s lower than in 13 northern and western European countries, but far higher than costs in China: $1.36 per hour (in 2008), based on BLS estimates. Another manufacturing powerhouse, India, has even lower hourly compensation costs than China.
But depending on the manufacturing sector, labor may account for only a small fraction of operating costs. So China may offer manufacturers “goodie packages” to relocate, including tax breaks, low-cost land rental, and reduced utility costs, according to Hal Sirkin, a senior partner with global-management consultants Boston Consulting Group. In exchange, U.S. companies might be required to take on local companies as business partners or cut other deals with area businesses or municipalities.
Stihl chain saw
The appeal of foreign countries may wane, Sirkin says. “China gets more expensive every year. By 2015, Chinese wages will average $6.15 per hour, still well below the U.S. minimum wage, but American worker productivity is significantly higher. When you consider all the factors, the true cost to manufacture goods from China will be only about 10 percent cheaper than to make them domestically in another few years.”
National security issues and an iffy supply chain are also concerns. “Natural disasters such as the 2011 tsunami in Japan can disrupt the product pipeline, leading to shortages of parts, products, and long shipping delays,” says John Hoffecker, a managing director of global business consultants AlixPartners in New York. By 2015, the Boston Consulting Group predicts, cost advantages (in electricity, natural gas, and labor) over Japan and several European countries in a range of industries will give U.S. exports a big boost. As a result, the group says, the U.S. could add as many as 2.5 million to 5 million manufacturing jobs by the end of the decade.
Jeff Faux, a distinguished fellow of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., is not sanguine about the nature of those jobs. “When you think it through,” he says, “our default policy to compete in the global economy over the long run is to lower the wages and benefits of American workers, and no one at the top will admit that. There’s no question a few jobs are coming back. However, they’re jobs that once paid $22 per hour and are now paying $12. Globalization isn’t the problem. The problem is that we started to accelerate the opening of U.S. markets to foreign goods, but without preparing our workers for the brutalization of competition. For 30 years leaders have said we need to train and upgrade the skills of American workers, but it needs to be done before signing these trade agreements, not after the fact.”
Wolf range
Making it in America
Still, it’s a stretch to say, as is commonly heard, that the U.S. doesn’t make anything anymore. In fact, Sirkin says, the U.S. makes about three-quarters of all the manufactured goods (including components) it consumes. The chemical and plastics industries are thriving, thanks to declining natural gas prices, and foreign automakers including BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, and Volkswagen have opened plants in the U.S. Master Lock returned (“onshored” or “insourced” in labor-speak) 100 union jobs to its Milwaukee lock factory. Among the companies that have dug in their heels and continued to manufacture domestically is Lenox, which says it’s the only maker of fine bone china in the U.S.
Some companies are bucking the outsourcing trend even in industries that have largely fled the U.S.: large appliances, electronics, and apparel.
Appliances. In 2000, Michigan-based Whirlpool manufactured most of its front-loading washers in Germany. Now the company is in the midst of making a five-year, $1 billion investment in U.S.-based plants, facilities, and equipment. Of the products Whirlpool sells in the U.S., it makes 80 percent in U.S. plants. And it continues to ramp up production of front-loaders in Ohio, where it already makes dryers, dishwashers, freezers, and top-loaders.
“On the one hand, U.S. labor costs are often higher than in other countries,” says Casey Tubman, Whirlpool’s general manager of cleaning. “But when you look at the higher productivity for American workers and consider the fact that it’s very expensive to ship something as big as a refrigerator or washer, we can quickly make up those costs.”
Last year, KitchenAid returned the manufacture of hand mixers from China to the U.S., and GE opened two factories in Kentucky to make hot-water heaters and refrigerators. A spokesman for Sears told us that “through our manufacturing partner, Electrolux, more than 1,200 new American jobs will be created at a plant being built in Memphis.”
There should be plenty of demand if the industry does come back. About a third of respondents to our survey said they’d tried to buy U.S.-made appliances during the past year. And more than half of respondents perceived such appliances as having much or somewhat better quality than those made abroad.
Pendleton Portland Collection blanket
Electronics. Few TVs, cell phones, or digital cameras are made in America, but in December, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Next year, we will do one of our existing Mac lines in the United States.” China-based Lenovo, the world’s second-largest personal computer maker, announced last October that it would start making some PCs in North Carolina, bucking a trend “that has seen electronics manufacturing jobs migrate overseas for more than two decades,” the company said. And Element Electronics, an American company, has been assembling LCD TVs in its Detroit factory since January 2012. The company says that opting for domestic production was “an emotional decision . . . maybe even a patriotic choice.”
Apparel. The domestic industry has been scorched by job losses because of plentiful and cheap labor overseas. More than 90 percent of clothes and shoes sold in America are made elsewhere, according to Jack Plunkett of Houston-based Plunkett Research. Still, the industry is gaining traction in the U.S. There’s growth among designers with output too small to attract the interest of international manufacturers, and among those who simply want to be part of a Made in America movement. And as you'll read in "American Made, But Well Made?" even some big names are offering at least a limited assortment of American-made garments and accessories.
To build on the momentum, President Obama, through the departments of Commerce and Labor, last fall launched the “Make It in America” challenge, offering $40 million in grants to applicants who come up with the best proposals to encourage “insourcing,” spur foreign investment, and expand job opportunities through employee training programs.
Close to home—mostly
Here’s a sampling of companies that make or assemble at least some of their products in the U.S. Note that a company’s entire output isn’t necessarily American-made. And some primarily American companies may have manufacturing facilities in more than one country to meet demand overseas.
Product
Companies
Apparel and accessories
• Allen Edmonds shoes
• American Apparel
• Chippewa boots
• Filson apparel
• Kepner Scott children’s shoes
• Pendleton woolens (the Portland Collection and wool blankets and throws)
• Stetson hats
• True Religion and Texas jeans
• Wigwam socks
Housewares
• All-Clad, Lodge, and Nordic Ware cookware
• Bunn coffeemakers
• Dacor
• DCS
• Harden Furniture
• Kirby and Oreck vacuum cleaners
• Lasko (mostly fans)
• Pyrex glassware
• Sub-Zero refrigerators
• Viking and Wolf ranges
Tools and home equipment
• Briggs & Stratton mower and tractor engines
• Channellock and Moody hand tools
• Maglite flashlights
• Purdy paintbrushes and rollers
• Shop-Vac wet-and-dry vacuum cleaners
• Stihl gasoline-powered equipment
Others
• Airstream trailers
• Annin flags
• Crayola crayons
• Gibson and Martin guitars
• Hillerich & Bradsby (Louisville Slugger wooden bats)
• Little Tikes and K’Nex toys
• Sharpie markers
• Steinway pianos
• Wilson sporting goods (NFL footballs)
Although looking for U.S.-made products is important to most Americans, our national survey found that other corporate behavior matters at least as much. We asked respondents, "All things being equal, would you be more likely, less likely, or neither to buy from a company that . . . "
More likely Less likely Neither
gives back to the local community 92% 2% 6%
treats its workers well 90 4 7
expresses public support for causes you believe in 82 5 13
engages in environmentally friendly practices 79 7 14
is American, not foreign 78 6 17
has manufacturing plants in your home state 75 7 18
American made, but well made?
Respondents to our survey praised the quality of U.S.-made products: 61 percent said that U.S. clothing and shoes were of better quality than foreign goods (34 percent said “much better” and 27 percent said “somewhat better”). Just 5 percent said American-crafted clothing or shoes were of worse quality. And almost 60 percent of Americans said they had tried to buy U.S.-made clothing or shoes within the past year. No wonder more and more companies are adding at least a few U.S.-made items to their product lines. But no product is worth your hard-earned dollars if it’s poorly made. For a snapshot of how American-made products measure up, we bought one sample of six products from big brands and asked our experts to assess their quality. Price is what we paid.
Brooks Brothers cotton sport shirt, $84
Made in America from long-staple Egyptian cotton woven in Italy, the fabric is smooth, strong, and unlikely to pill. (Egyptian cotton is typical in fine sheets and shirts.) Brooks Brothers sweated the small stuff, and the shirt has impeccable details: The button holes are perfect, the collar has interfacing that makes it “stand up and be noticed,” our expert said; the striped fabric on the back of the shirt lines up with the yoke, and the yoke lines up with the collar (“like a good wallpaper job,” our expert noted). There are gussets on the side of the tail and small pleats in the sleeve to help resist accidental tears. The shirt also comes with two extra buttons, one for the placket and another for the collar. Our only nitpick: a few loose threads.
Bottom line. “It’s a well-made, high-quality shirt,” our expert said, “with features that help it resist wear and touches you’d expect from a tailor.”
Lands’ End ragg socks, $30
These thick casual socks (made in Osage, Iowa) are multicolored, as the name “ragg” implies. They’re 66 percent cotton, 28 percent wool, 5 percent nylon, and 1 percent spandex. The heel and toe are densely knit to keep those areas from wearing out; a bit of spandex in the heel and toe adds strength. Elastic throughout helps the socks stretch and retain their shape over time. But a raised seam across the top of the toe could irritate the foot and give a hiker blisters. Better socks have a smooth seam. Other drawbacks: chaff in the wool (the processor didn’t eliminate all field debris after the sheep was sheared), loose threads, and sloppy finishing at the top of the ankle.
Bottom line. “Construction could be better, and you’d expect higher wool content for the price,” our expert said.
L.L.Bean women’s braided leather belt, $35
The leather isn’t butter-soft, but it’s fine for a belt. The braids are machine made, and the belt (made in California) features simple, flat-cut leather with unfinished edges that could abrade over time. The braid’s ends were taped before sewing and double backstitched to create sturdier seams. The sewing is neat. The buckle components fit together nicely, and the metal prong that slips into the hole is well finished, so it’s unlikely to snag on other materials.
Bottom line. “It’s well made overall,” our expert said, “and decent for the price.”
New Balance 587 running shoe, $115
It looks well built, with double-stitching at most joints and good adhesion between the sole and upper, but the synthetic materials seem cheap. The shoe feels very stiff, and inflexible materials could result in unusual wear. Because the materials aren’t porous, the shoe is likely to retain heat. It’s also somewhat heavier than many of today’s running shoes, which tend to be very light. The company’s plants are in Maine and Massachusetts.
Bottom line. “The shoes appear well made but are very stiff and use crude-looking materials,” our expert said. “For the money, there are better choices.”
Orvis cropped cotton pants for women, $54
They’re made (in California) of a stretchy jersey knit, like T-shirt fabric but denser. The two pockets aren’t pocket bags but are instead a single piece of fabric folded over itself—a cheaper design. The pants have an elastic waistband, a bar tack at each pocket to help prevent ripping, a T-shirt-style hem, and serged stitching that’s reinforced at seams to prevent unraveling. Sewing at the crotch and hem is neat, but hanging threads as long as 4 inches could snag.
Bottom line. “The fabric is nice, but the pants seem pricey for what they are,” our expert said.
Woolrich vintage throw, $129
On one side, this blanket (made in Woolrich, Pa.) is 84 percent wool and 16 percent nylon; on the other, it’s nubby polyester and acrylic sherpa fleece. The fleece side is a stretchy double knit with a fuzzy texture to counterbalance the roughness of the wool on the flip side. It has an old-fashioned look, and the big, loopy chain stitch around the edge adds to the hand-sewn feeling, though it’s made by machine, as is the rest of the blanket. If the edge were to wear out, the chain stitch would unravel, but it’s purely decorative, so the blanket would stay intact. The sides are actually held together with a conventional serged seam that’s concealed from view.
Bottom line. “It’s a classic,” our expert said. “Good fabric choices and construction details mean it’s something you’ll have for a very long time.”
Car wars: Comparing pedigrees
Most vehicles are multinational, even those with iconic American nameplates, and many imports are surprisingly red, white, and blue. Case in point: The Chevrolet Spark (below left) and Toyota Sienna (below right). Only 10 percent of the Chevy’s parts are American or Canadian; more than 75 percent (including the engine) are from Korea, where the vehicle is assembled, and the automatic transmission is made in Japan. By contrast, 75 percent of the Sienna (including its engine) is American. It’s assembled in Indiana.
We know those facts because the American Automobile Labeling Act requires passenger vehicles, pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans to bear labels specifying the value of their U.S. and Canadian parts (as a percentage of the total value of all car parts), the country of assembly, and the country of origin of the engine and transmission. That information is typically on the vehicle’s window stick
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