Your favorite American-made brands
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Anonymous
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For years I've been wanting to buy exclusively clothes made in America. We don't have a perfect track record of safety or workers' rights for garment manufacturers, but the few clothes and towels that I still have from before the big switchover to foreign produced goods still look pretty good. Do you have a favorite brand that's made here (beyond American Apparel; I understand they have some sketchy business practices).
And this thread isn't as snarky as some, but I feel I should say, yes, I have googled this pretty extensively and would now like to hear actual people's opinions. |
Anonymous
| Do American-made brands actually exist anymore? |
Anonymous
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Aveda and St Ives for cosmetics/lotions/cleansers.
Patagonia for clothing. Not made in the US, but Patagonia has a very deep commitment to fair labor and an excellent track record re sweatshops. In addition, all three are as concerned as much with good environments practices as well as labor. |
Anonymous
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Also, check labels. Many of Lucky Brand's jeans are mde in the US.
You can also go to sweatshopfree.com for a list of of reputable brands, though not all are MiUSA |
Anonymous
| AG jeans. I own 3 pairs and worth every penny. |
Anonymous
| Not Your Daughters Jeans are made in the US. |
Anonymous
| OP, I urge you to do some more research on sweatshops and low cost garment manufacturing overseas. Of course I am against any abuse of workers that occurs in these settings, but long hours and low wages are usually economically beneficial to these workers, their families, and the local economy. |
ThatSmileyFaceGuy
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| AS laudible it is to buy from evironmently concious and fair wage companies overseas, I think OP was looking more to spend her dollars on things that also put food on the American workers table. |
Anonymous
| Fiestaware is made in America, and I believe New Balance makes approximately 25% of its shoes in the U.S. (which is a start, I guess!). There was also an article in Slate awhile back about an American company that was producing men's sweatshirts (yes, men's sweatshirts) in the U.S. There's also etsy if you want to support artisans. And I also think a lot of quality furniture is still manufactured in the U.S. |
Anonymous
| I bought a cute, comfy pair of sandals from Zappos last year from a brand named Munro. I am 99% sure their shoes are made in the U.S. |
Anonymous
Actually, I got them from Nordstrom, but I think Zappos carries a decent selection of Munro shoes. |
Anonymous
| I also started my personal quest to buy items made in USA. When I clothing/shoe shop I always check tags and look for items made in USA. I do love my Lucky Brand jeans. One day out of boredom (waiting for DD who was at a movie), I checked almost all the womens shoes at DSW and sadly I was not able to find any made in the USA. |
Anonymous
| Not clothing, but I think much (possibly all) of the furniture sold by Room & Board is made in the US. We are really happy with the stuff we bought from them. |
Anonymous
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OP, assuming your inquiry is focused on women's clothing, I have found that some items are well-represented while others are impossible. For example, casual cotton or cotton-blend clothing can be purchased from a variety of sources (other than American Apparel): Three Dots, Velvet, C&C California, Cut Loose, and some Eileen Fisher garments are U.S.-made. Denim, particularly if you are willing to pay a lot, also has a lot of U.S.-manufactured choices. Other items, such as work-appropriate clothing, are in much shorter supply and are often on the expensive side. Theory makes a fair amount of clothing in the U.S.; Milly, Trina Turk, Black Halo, Nicole Miller, David Meister, and DVF do as well. On shoes, the PP already named the only U.S. made brand I've been able to find: Munro. On underwear, I've found nothing except for Hanky Panky. Hosiery is hit and miss.
I would love to know what brands or sources I have missed. |
Anonymous
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OP again - yes, it was mostly for clothes and shoes, which I should have specified. Not that I mind finding out other American made brands (and I actually have a Room and Board couch, made in America). And, yes, my motivation in finding more companies that are made in America is to keep more money in America. It was manufacturing that helped create the middle class, which I think of as the great driver of American prosperity. I acknowledge that not everyone agrees with that assessment.
One of the big gaps in apparel is shoes. There are a ton of workboots (shout out to my hometown Red Wing Shoes!), but not too many professional or casual shoes. I actually used to wear Munro when I WOH. But that's about it. |