What’s Behind Your Clothing Label?

What’s Behind Your Clothing Label?

Over the years the apparel industry in the United States has taken a pretty severe beating, much of that can be attributed to the cheap foreign labor and government trade agreements that reward businesses for taking their apparel manufacturing out of the country. Personally I think it’s just plain sad that companies like Wal-Mart and Kohl’s have set up camp in places like Vietnam (actually whole cities), where the average monthly wage is about $45 USD a month and then have the balls to further leverage that by bringing the cheaply made garments back to the USA for sale and distribution.

We are sure that you noticed during the holidays that those stores were selling shirts and outfits for as low as $5, but have you really thought about the real story behind those clothing labels with crafty designer names that for the most part do not even exist? Probably not, but envision yourself as a seamstress that works in often appalling conditions with a sign above the room that counts down the daily quota that needs to be met before your shift can go home, you have to endure that 6 long days a week and for just a couple of bucks a day. I call that corporate exploitation of human species.

So you think that couldn’t possibly be the case with companies that make Hawaiian shirts and apparel? Wrong, while you may see the name of some person that rings a bell like Tori Richard etc. or a label that says Aloha Island or something, you probably don’t think about where it was actually made and by whom. Looks can be deceiving and that applies to clothing labels. While Reyn Spooner may state to operate out of Hawaii, the fact of the matter is that the colorful silk garments are 100% made overseas, as are all other shirts made from silk. No aloha there folks.

Then we have the shell game called re-labeling which is rampant throughout the apparel industry and not just limited to Hawaiian apparel manufacturers and distributers. Put it this way, there are over 100 Hawaiian and tropical themed clothing labels and just a handful of actual manufactures in the USA; you can see how it’s hard to keep track of who makes what.

Your best bet is taking a moment to turn over the label and look. If you can’t find a country of origin then we strongly suggest you take a pass on buying the garment. Secondly give thought to whether or not you will be able to sleep at night knowing that a human being was exploited to offer you a Hawaiian shirt for $14.95

Ok it says made in the USA or Hawaii or San Diego, it must be ok to buy. Not necessarily because while a company may say that it makes something in the USA isn’t always as straight forward as it appears. Case in point, a company named American apparel that on numerous occasions has used workers that are here illegally to manufacture their products, is that what you would call American made? Source

So what do we do now? Be assured that any Hawaiian shirts that carry the Wave Shoppe label are actually made by Wave Shoppe. We do not have any distributers, do not practice re-labeling, nor do we employ any workers or seamstresses that do not have legal residency in San Diego, California or Hawaii. The Wave Shoppe label is also proudly sewn on our muumuu and Hawaiian dresses.

But let it be told that cotton Hawaiian fabrics of any quality are almost exclusively printed overseas with cotton imported from the USA. While we are aware of a couple U.S. based textile printers the quality of the fabric and dyes used is beyond atrocious and at nearly $25 a yard you can hardly justify using it to cover a chair not alone produce apparel. So when you factor in that our branded clothing utilizes cotton from the U.S. and all of the cutting and sewing and distribution are done on American soil with American workers its about as close as you are going to get for being American made Hawaiian clothing.

Clothing label images courtesy of Clothing Labels 4 U