Posted on 01/31/2005 8:54:52 AM PST by WmShirerAdmirer
CHERAW, S.C. - The spinning frames at the Cheraw Yarn Mills still hum 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The mint-green machines still turn out more than 4 million pounds of thread each month, destined for bras made by Vanity Fair, home furnishings covered with Richloom fabrics and the Soffe-brand cheerleading shorts worn by American girls everywhere.
The mill, in this tiny South Carolina town, is one of the last survivors of a U.S. industry that's been decimated over the past 10 years by apparel makers' quest for cheap materials and cheap labor overseas. Now, at the dawn of 2005, this 87-year-old company faces its greatest challenge yet.
Jan. 1 marked the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement, the 30-year-old trade contract that set up a quota system regulating the flow of imported textiles and clothing into the United States, the world's single largest apparel market. Now that the agreement has expired, a huge additional segment of the apparel industry - from yarn-making to the cutting, sewing and finishing of garments - is expected to stream into China as though drawn by a magnet.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
What is "Made In New York City" are ideas. And they come from a highly-trained, highly-paid work force. Even those things that are actually physically assembled, such as art, jewelry or very high end furniture, also require a highly-skilled work force. It's not a model that can be sustained for most of the country.
Thanks so your reply and telling of your satisfaction, I was glad to read of your good experience. You mentioned Banana Republic...my brother's wife (they live in NYC,)bought a "fashionable" pea coat for him from J.Crew. At each of the first four wearings, the buttons promptly fell off. He had his wife take it pronto to an older American seamstress who has a shop nearby to secure the buttons on permanently for the life of the coat (which for what he paid for it, better be for a few years!)
Thanks again for your reply.
My Dakota was made in the USA, before Chrysler became German. But it is difficult to find made in the USA automobiles. The best way, is build yourself. Italian Ferrarri and Lamborghini do this, with limited yearly runs. Build from the ground up. American kids used to call that - hot rodding, where they'd take the bare shell of a vehicle, and equip it however they would - maybe not with the engineering skill of an Italian or British or German, or Detroit, shop to be fair. Some of the early racers, who went on to manufacture for racing, did have military and engineering backgrounds, however, and did build well from the ground up. Early drag racers were getting times that people find difficult to achieve today without using 8-9K HP dragster engines.
They are not necessarily always bad. Ben Davis is local outfit that produces a WIDE range of sizes for work jeans, where the black and white are actually presentable for almost any occasion. I believe they are union, but I could be wrong. Dan Post and others make quality boots. American made. Nice 'stetson' hats. Generally American made.
I think you can still buy American. The suit can be tailored by an American, wherever the fabric comes from. And so on.
>I don't buy anything but Toyota/Lexis.<
SORRY 75% of Toyota's campaign contributions went to fonda-kerry. That's enough reason for me to stay away from Toyota.
Yeah, I'm not sure what is considered "made in the USA" anymore.
The profits go to Japan. To their Japanese owners. Same as we used to do when US companies owned tin and copper mines in Bolivia. We employed Bolivian labor.
Unless the Chinese are planning to contribute to our Social Security fund, this is going to tremendously impact it. When high-wage middle class people are put out of the labor pool as jobs are shipped overseas, that lessens the SS fund, which means the likelihood of reduced payout is greater.
I'd love to see an update, but 8 years ago in Forbes they pointed out that 95% of Toyota is owned by Japanese shareholders. So the Japs reap the profits while naive America are grateful for the jobs
You mean like Wal-Mart used to do? It didn't work out too well for them...
bump
used to?
I thought their business plan was always cheap Chinese crap.
I didn't know they started out different.
Originally Wal-Mart prided itself on selling "Made In USA" stuff. Then the business plan changed for price considerations.
There is still plenty of stuff "Made In USA" but it's very high end and expensive. The vast majority of the inexpensive, assembly line stuff is gone and will remain gone.
Free trade. Killer of our manufacturing and money that goes to an enemy (China). I buy made in USA products wherever I find them. Not much but at least it is my part.
Pretty ironic is it not?. It seems that foreign companies (at least as far as cars go) make more stuff in the US than US-based companies.
Hadn't thought of that, thanks for input.
The article doesn't say anything about a union workforce, and says that wages average $13 per hour. But how low would you make the wages when you are competing with countries where the wage is only a few dollars per day?
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.