Business and Financial Textile Industry Says Claims that Olympic Uniforms Couldn't be Made in U.S.A. are Bogus

BRADENTON – Much was made over the fact that the opening/closing ceremony uniforms for the U.S. Olympic teams were made in China. WSJ Digital Network's Elva Ramirez claimed on the publication's video show Mean Street (see below) that the U.S. fashion industry ”no longer had mills,“ and while the outfits could have been assembled in the U.S., the fabric would have come from overseas. But a representative of the National Textile Association said that statement is completely false.

Ralph Lauren publicity photo

”While Elva Ramirez appears to be knowledgeable about the fashion business, her statements, 'we no longer have mills' in the U.S., so 'that fabric would have come from overseas,' reveal her as totally ignorant as regards the textile industry in the United States,“ said David Trumbull, Vice President of International Trade for the NTA.

”The domestic U.S. textile industry produces fabrics suitable for every type of garment and could easily have provided the fabrics for the uniforms at a competitive price. In fact, the U.S. is a net exporter of fabric!“ said Trumbull. ”In 2011 we exported $8.2 billion of fabric, while we imported $5.5 billion of fabric.“

Trumbull explained in an email that the biggest markets for fabric are the U.S.'s North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") partners, Mexico ($2.9 billion), Canada ($1.4 billion) and the six nations (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua) that are our free trade partners in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement ("DR-CAFTA") where the total imports of U.S.-made fabric was $1.1 billion in 2001.

”While it is true that the U.S. is a major importer of garments (in 2011 we imported $77 billion of apparel), a significant portion of that is apparel assembled in the DR-CAFTA region or Mexico of U.S.-made fab,“ Trumbull explained. ”Finally, I note that the U.S. is also an exporter of garments ($5.1 billion in 2011) with Canada ($1.7 billion and Mexico $900 million) being the largest export markets.“

Ralph Lauren was also the official clothier for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and the company is under contract to produce the uniforms for the 2014 winter Olympics. In light of the uproar, they have issued a statement that they intend to ”produce“ those uniforms in the United States. However, the statement does not specify whether they will be assembled in the U.S. using foreign fabric, or with the use of domestic textiles.

Prior to Ralph Lauren's involvement, a Canadian apparel company named Roots had produced the uniforms since 2002. No tax dollars are spent on the manufacturing of the outfits, as the contracts are negotiated and paid for by the U.S.O.C.

(Source of statistics: U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Textiles and Apparel)