Posted on 12/16/2001 10:35:48 AM PST by Native American Female Vet
'Made in the USA' label becoming harder to find on shoes as plants close
By David Sharp, Associated Press, 12/16/2001 13:29
DEXTER, Maine (AP) Shoppers looking to spend their Christmas dollars on goods carrying the ''Made in the USA'' label could get sore feet if they search for U.S.-made shoes this holiday season.
A wave of closings of shoe factories in recent years means well-known Maine brands like G.H. Bass and Cole Haan are now made overseas.
And just when it seemed domestic production couldn't sink much lower, Dexter, Saucony and Eastland are shuttering their plants in Maine.
''For all intents and purposes, this type of manufacturing in Maine is dead. The handwriting is on the wall,'' said Bob Simpson, town manager in Dexter, where the Dexter Shoe Co. is laying off roughly 500 people.
Maine's shoe industry is only a shadow of what it once was: The number of jobs peaked at nearly 27,000 in 1968 and is now about 3,500. Nationwide, the shoe industry has dropped from 235,000 jobs in 1972 to 28,000 this year, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
An industry in which 98 percent of shoes were made in the United States in the late 1960s has undergone a complete reversal, with more than 90 percent of shoes now imported from other countries.
The day in which all shoes are imported will probably never come but the latest plant closings show the slide in U.S. production is continuing, said Bill Boettge of the National Shoe Retailers Association. Joining Dexter, Saucony and Eastland in announcing closings of plants over the past year were Converse in North Carolina, Lacrosse Footwear in Wisconsin, and Rocky Shoes and Boots in Ohio.
These days, shoppers are finding fewer and fewer shoes made in the United States. More likely, the shoes are made in China, Indonesia, Mexico or any number of countries with cheaper labor.
''China manufactures more shoes than any other place in the history of the world. We'll never go to war against China because we'll be barefoot,'' said John Stollenwerk of Allen-Edmonds, a manufacturer of high-end men's shoes that has four plants in Wisconsin and one in Maine.
The reason for the plant closings is that the shoe industry remains a labor-intensive business despite strides in automation. Dozens of pairs of hands touch most shoes before they're boxed and sold.
In Dexter, workers at Dexter Shoe Co.'s flagship shoe factory felt like a cloud was hanging over them as they watched one company after another shut down plants and move production to other countries.
G.H. Bass and Cole Haan already shut down their Maine plants in 1998 and 1999 and the trend caught up with Dexter a year ago with the closing of its Newport plant. This year, Dexter's Skowhegan plant closed and Eastland's Freeport plant closed.
Saucony is in the process of closing its Bangor plant and Dexter is in the process of closing its main production center.
Cindy Mountain, who has worked at Dexter for 17 years, expected cuts but never thought the entire plant would shut down. Her husband has worked there for 25 years, since graduating from high school. They have two children.
''I'm not going to sit down and cry about it,'' she said. ''It isn't going to get you anywhere to be depressed or feel sorry for yourself.''
Simpson, the town manager, said the decision to close the plant was painful but inevitable. Workers are eligible for training assistance. ''The other shoe has dropped, so to speak, so we can move forward,'' he said.
Against this gloomy backdrop, several shoe companies continue to thrive.
While at a labor disadvantage, domestic manufacturers like Arkansas-based Munro & Co. do have the advantage of being able to respond faster than offshore factories to changes in the market place.
Munro closed two plants this year but still has 1,000 workers at its four remaining plants in Arkansas. Maine's Sebago is bucking the trend, as well, with 360 workers in Westbrook and Bridgton making Docksides and other shoes.
Dan Wellehan, president and chief executive officer, said he counts on customers who are willing to pay more for quality. And like Munro, he said his company can respond quickly compared to offshore plants.
The domestic shoe industry cannot sink much lower, he added, so there is reason for optimism, he suggested.
''I have to personally believe it's low tide right now,'' said Wellehan, whose father helped found the company in 1946.
In theory, the trend toward patriotism after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks should help companies like Allen-Edmonds, Munro, Sebago and a handful of other companies with productions in the United States.
Boettge said studies show that people talk a good game about buying American. ''But when we come down to it, the styling and the pocketbook have a lot more to do with it,'' he said.
I try to look on the bright side: When, for instance, I buy Chinese-made boots for $15 vs. US-made Red Wings for $80, I can make good use of the $65 dollars I saved.
Also consider that the sales tax we pay is much less when buying less expensive foreign-made goods, too. Even though we are losing manufacturing jobs, there is some satisfaction in the fact that we are bringing the government down with us.
I hadn't looked at it that way, but you are correct.
If the quality of the foreign-made product (like the Reebok shoes I mentioned above) is substandard, I would rather pay more money for the better-made product. Otherwise, you can conceivably pay more by the number of replacements you are forced to buy.
In most cases, the decision to buy or not to buy has to be made on a case-by-case basis.
When I lived in FL I had the luxury of buying locally-grown produce from roadside stands. In fact, one of the owners was really open about where his tomatoes were being imported from when tomatoes went out of season. That way, the consumer could make an informed choice.
I can remember when we had many national shoe manufacturers that made high quality shoes. They also provided jobs for cobblers in the shoe repair business.
Nowadays one can hardly find a quality shoe. We are stuck paying high prices for throw away quality shoes.
My grandparents immigrated to the US and came through Ellis Island. They chose to settle in Boston, another place with lots of green-grocers, butchers, bakers, etc. I chose to leave Taxachusetts, land of the liberals, 25 years ago.
Even though I would rather still be in FL, finances forced my husband and I to come to metro-Atlanta, a "non-city" if ever there was one. It's Kroger, Publix, Super WalMart, or nothing at all.
Your post makes me nostalgic.
Then, really, the more common selections of ethnic food are Mexican and Korean. Conditions in the markets are generally filthy and bug-ridden. We were foolish enough to try some of them out when we first moved here. If the smell didn't send us running, the filth did.
I've enjoyed our exchange. It's time to wind down since tomorrow is a workday which means getting up at 4 am.
Thanks and have a great evening!
Ours closed last year.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.