Local Church Says Mahalo for Hawaiian Fabric

We wanted to take a moment to share with you a letter received from a local church, they receive a good portion of the fabric scraps created by Wave Shoppe Hawaiian Shirts and Apparel and as many know, we generate a lot of fabric scraps.

When you cut Hawaiian apparel not all of the full fabric width is utilized and in a short amount of time a busy shop can generate a sizable amount of odd shaped stacks of fabric. Some are as small as 6 x 6 quilting squares and some are ½ yard or more. So many years ago we concluded that giving the fabric away to good causes was a better alternative than adding more volume to a landfill.

But to whom do we give it to? Well and I kid you not, just a few weeks after making that decision we were approached by a local church that made quilts for some great causes, and the rest is history. Now who says God doesn’t work in mysterious ways?

WSJ News on Rayon Hawaiian Shirting

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal posted a piece about rayon Hawaiian shirts, vests, and designer dresses making a comeback and I thought it was kind of interesting that they oughtright attribute that to an increase in cotton prices. But my in-depth knowledge of the industry got the best of me, even though they tossed out some data, I couldn’t help but wonder if the article on rayon was still wrote from the perspective of being on the outside looking in.

“Cotton prices surged 91% in 2010, leaving designers and clothes makers scrambling to find lower-cost alternatives. One of their favorite replacements is rayon, an 80-year-old fabric whose last golden age was in the 1980s, when it was used in everything from Hawaiian shirts to sequined vests”

While I don’t disagree that cotton prices surged in 2010, lets be fair and state that textile costs have surged consistently every year, and for all fabrics. Japan is clearly the largest importer of raw cotton from the USA and when the price goes up here its naturally passed along when we purchase the finished textile. But what’s not factored into the WSJ article is the cost of petroleum, something of which Hawaiian printed fabrics are very dependent on, as many processes are petroleum based in one way or another. I just have to wonder why a key textile ingredient was left out of the article, dont you? I did some quick price checking with some of our importers on 1/7/2011 and it appears that rayon ROT is currently priced 18 cents above cotton. So either the importers did not get the memo or the WSJ data is a bit skewed or slanted to impress shareholders of wood pulp companies.

I also found it intriguing that they failed to focus on Indonesia, which is where most of the rayon fabric is produced. Wave Shoppe’s rayon mens Hawaiian shirts are made from very high quality imported rayon, but  frankly we have never seen any rayon fabric offered where the country of origin was Japan.

“Rising cotton prices are pushing a forgotten retro staple back onto the fashion runway” Retro? My lord women looking to wear a higher end dress have never opted for cotton, its been rayon or nothing for so many years that I can’t count them all. Wave Shoppe is introducing an entirely new line of rayon and cotton Hawaiian dresses this year and I assure you that the rayon will outsell the cotton, even though a finished rayon garment is higher priced.

So my final thought on all this is that this WSJ article is just another power play to push a material (rayon) that has higher profit margins, than it is to outline that cotton shirting prices are going up.

Full WSJ article

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

Don’t be Hawaiian shirt ‘less

Don’t be Hawaiian shirt ‘less, many people wear them, more than a few people collect them, and a few people (in Hawaii and the mainland) consider them cultural artwork. I consider them my shirts of choice. There are multiple forms of Hawaiian shirts, some that came about from rebellion, from hardship, and of course born from meeting a personal need to wear vivid color. Some are even worn as island symbolism while shooting at bad guys in other countries. Run Forest run!

When the Hawaiian shirt was first being born in the late 1920’s/early 1930’s, the beachwear of the day was white. White pants, white hat, white shirt, white shoes. Before that evolution occurred and probably the beginning of the origins of the Hawaiian shirt, the shirts were mostly worn by vast numbers of Hawaiian field laborers from China and Japan. The early plantation workers shirts were often made from checkered designs (a woven checkered pattern of dark blue and off white like their summer kata’s were made of back home) at times called palaka shirts. But many very early field shirts were just bits and pieces made from parts of other garments. What mattered most was that they kept the hot sun off the workers backs.

You could keep them clean by washing them in a lake or a bucket of water by hand, and then letting them simply air dry on the branch of a tree, regardless of how you washed them they would keep you cool in the hot fields. Whatever the benefits, the dull checkered patterns were too much like a uniform for many, but with the introduction of colorful Asian fabrics, Hawaiian shirts of bright patterns and colors were most widely adopted for sales to eager to shop tourists.

Celebrities of the day such as Bing Crosby, Elvis etc. wore them (celebrities were probably the few that could afford to travel to the Hawaiian Islands at that time), and their popularity became more mainstream once their fans saw their favorite celebrities wearing one.

During times of hardship such as World War II and the depression, petroleum based fabrics became scarce. To make ends meet and keep business coming in, some merchants ingeniously used upholstery and curtain fabrics in their shirts and it wasn’t uncommon to see other shirts cut up and recycled into a Hawaiian style cut shirt.

In the late 1960s (after the royal Hawaiian females no longer dominated surfing) when the world was in the grip of the first surfing craze, the beach boys and other gnarly surfer dudes wore their shirts in the salt and sun so much the shirts would be sun faded and have a natural washed out look. This was a badge of honor among some male surfers (go figure), and as you can guess some of the entrepreneurial island shirt makers emulated it by making shirts with the patterns inside out! God even wears one!

Christmas is right around the corner so...

Christmas is right around the corner so let’s not forget to buy an aloha gift for each of your family members and closest friends. Equally important is that you make a conscious effort to show support for your local merchants, as well as taking a moment to see where the product is made. America is a great county and purchasing products made in the USA will insure that it stays that way for generations to come.

Those words of wisdom also apply to Hawaiian shirts and women’s apparel as well, Wave Shoppe’s clothing lines are made right here in San Diego and Hawaii from the finest materials and with the upmost of craftsmanship. We have maintained a loyal customer base since 2004 which serves testament to the quality of Wave Shoppe apparel.

If your gifting a man for we would obviously suggest Hawaiian shirts for men but if the Christmas gift is for a women you have a lot more choices to make. Women’s Hawaiian shirts are popular, even in the winter, but we would have to say that hands down a new muumuu would bring tears of joy to any female recipient that longs for Hawaii.

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Wave Shoppe!

Wave Shoppe - 15% Off Sale - Coupon Code: NOEL

Wave Shoppe is the place to shop if you’re looking to save money on Hawaiian shirts and apparel this holiday season. We offer a great selection of popular designs in sizing that will actually fit you.

Take advantage of free Priority Mail Shipping with any $75 purchase and for a limited time if you use coupon code NOEL during checkout you will also receive 15% off your entire order!

Shopping for aloha in southern California? Swing by and visit our showroom, here are the directions to the store, we would love to meet you in person! Childrens clothes available in-store

From all of us at Wave Shoppe, mahalo and have a wonderfull Christmas.

Hawaiian Celebration of Life (Behind the scenes)

For months now I have been contemplating writing about a side of our business that some may consider being dark, nonetheless it’s a story that I think needs to be told. When you hear the word “celebration of life” I guess it can have multiple meanings such as a birth, but more often it has something to do with paying respect to a deceased one.

While I don’t work in our retail showroom very often, I am told that quite often people will come into the store looking for what they call celebration of life Hawaiian apparel. And I have to say that some of the stories are often heart wrenching. I hear of many ladies coming into the store, selecting apparel and then making a somber trek to the dressing room whereas they commence to having a full blown melt down grieving over the loss of their loved one.

While we pride ourselves in customer service, I don’t think in these situations that you can do much more than acknowledge their loss and maybe try to console them a bit. Even when they exit the changing room, the clerk eventually ask if they are ok, or if they need help, or a glass of water, but they always respond with a “thanks I am ok”.

But that changes when they make it to the checkout whereas they will tell us about the life of their loved one and their passion for Hawaiian culture and apparel. Many times the purchase was made because the husband always wished his wife would wear something Hawaiian (something to think about now?), clearly a gesture of sharing his passion for Hawaii. I would venture a guess that most of the ladies will buy a muumuu or choose from one of the many long tank dresses. I also wanted to note that while there are some men involved, it appears that women are more prominent in this particular situation.

Beginning in 2004 our business was online only and for many years it stayed that way, but a little over a year ago we took it to the streets and opened our 1st Hawaiian apparel store in Southern California. I think without the store we really wouldn’t be able to tell you this story. But as I write this I wonder if my loved ones and I will ever be subjected to some sort of personal celebration of life ritual and what on earth would that be? Will everyone dress like Mr Freeze to celebrate my lack of emotion? Serve food with bitter seasoning? Or will they celebrate by giving my money to charity (money that I seemingly cant afford to give away now), or will it be something I have never seen in myself?

So now I have myself wondering if I am living my "celebration of life in the present", I love the Hawaiian culture, especially my brightly colored aloha shirts. But when you consider that no matter where I am standing, I am always wishing I was somewhere else, so can that really be possible?

I guess time will tell, but quite honestly I doubt I would have much input at that point anyhow. As I wrap up this post I would like to share a video with you that features local Hawaiian artist Israel "IZ" Kaanoi Kamakawiwoole. I feel this video (linked below) is the epitome for a celebration of life, there is something about the end of the video that cannot be put to words. We miss you IZ!

Video: Somewhere over the Rainbow

Mahalo