USA Olympics Team uniforms made in China...

[Timothy]

Never thought I'd agree with anything Harry Reid has to say!

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid slammed the U.S. Olympic Committee Thursday over reports that the Team USA uniforms were made in China, saying officials "should burn" them.

Reid, D-Nev., made the remarks following reports that China has already taken gold from America by manufacturing the uniforms Team USA will wear during the opening ceremonies.

“I think the Olympic Committee should be ashamed,” Reid told reporters on Capitol Hill. He said they should "burn" the current uniforms, and would rather America's athletes wear shirts with "USA" hand-painted on them.

Repeated messages seeking comment from the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado were not returned.

With corporate sponsor Ralph Lauren designing the duds, the job of making the red, white and blue uniforms falls to its apparel contractors in China, the New York Daily News reports. Every item in the uniforms that the U.S. athletes will wear at the opening ceremony in London will carry an overseas label.

The company, in a statement, said the outfits aim to embody "the spirit of American athleticism and sportsmanship."

But fashion designer Nanette Lepore said she was shocked that none of the uniforms had been made stateside, telling ABC News that it was “absolutely” possible that the Olympians could have been fitted in U.S.-made clothing for the opening ceremony.

Ralph Lauren also is dressing the Olympic and Paralympic teams for the closing ceremony and is providing casual clothes to be worn around the Olympic Village. Nike, meanwhile, has created many of the competition uniforms for the U.S. and outfits for the medal stand.

Prices for the apparel range from $55 for a beret to $795 for the men’s blazer.

In a statement to ABC News, the U.S. Olympic Committee said it was “proud” of its partnership with the company.

"The U.S. Olympic team is privately funded and we're grateful for the support of our sponsors,” the statement read. “We're proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company."

In 2008, Ralph Lauren took criticism for an oversized logo on the opening ceremony uniform that some said overshadowed the Olympic rings, as well as reports that Chinese tailors worked overtime to finish the uniforms at the last minute.

"Lauren — and most likely his son David — celebrated not the spirit of athletic competition, but themselves and their brand, morphing our athletes into unpaid billboards for the "Polo™" pony and rider that has helped bring the Laurens great ... riches," The American Politics Journal wrote.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/12/reid-calls-for-officials-to-burn-china-made-team-usa-olympic-uniforms/

[1Buckshot]

WTF 

[MikeBjerum]

The sheeple don't give a damn!

The same people that are screaming that they want more jobs are the same people that flock to purchase Chinese made goods.  The same people that say they want decent wages are the same people that are flocking to Walmart and Costco to purchase products from companies that screw the makers - One of our very good venders has contracts with wally world, and the crap he is forced to do to supply them is unbelievable.  Walmart and Costco take virtually zero risk in their inventory and sales - It all remains on the back of the supplier.

I market memorial products to funeral homes.  You wouldn't believe the number of people that are glad to put a WWII, Korea, or Vietnam vet's flag in a case or display box made in China or some other Asian country.  Sure, sometimes it costs more to have made in the USA products, but when you think of the friends, neighbors, and ultimately all tax payers in this country you are helping it is money well spent.

I am currently known in our company for having zero tolerance for any foreign made product being used for U.S. Veterans; I look first to manufacturers within Minnesota; Second I look to manufacturers within other states; and Third I will look to offshore, but I utilize domestic distributors to supply those products to us.  My biggest pain right now is a local manufacturer of a product we sell over a million dollars a year.  This company also imports the same item from China.  Someone in our office keeps diverting our orders from U.S. manufacture to China made.  Last week I found a newly delivered lot of this product that was made in China.  Our purchaser's next task was to place a replacement order and request a return tag for what he ordered incorrectly.

Our company leaders have taken a stance; I deliver the stance message on a broader scope; I give our sales and customer service teams the tools to share the message; but we can not get our front line and backroom teams to see the value.  Anybody out there have a vision for our nation and looking for a job?

[Timothy]

It's not just the sheep!  There are several folks on this very forum that don't give a damn either!

http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=16252.msg208814#msg208814

I posted this a while ago with little or no response from our membership!

[MikeBjerum]

Thank you for bumping it up Timothy!

I remember following it, and I was surprised, based off some of the nasty posts on some of my threads, that nobody abused you over it.

If we want the good economic times in this country again we need to support our fellow Americans and their jobs. 

[Sponsor]

[Timothy]

No problem!

I know that it's hard to buy American, sometimes it's impossible on day to day items but we all need to try!

Yesterday, I went to the market and intentionally bought two bars of Dove soap and showed them to my wife and her sister who'd just bought some from the local Wally World.  There was a 1 oz smaller bar from WW vs the local market and they were priced nearly the same.  I've slowly been moving my wife in the direction of thought that WW cannot lower prices without reducing the quantity, quality or size of the products they offer!  They FORCE companies to do their bidding or they will NOT buy their product!

[santahog]

These uniforms look like Obama himself designed the things..
They make the kids look like young French Socialists from the 50s..
What were these guys thinking at the USOC farming out these uniforms to CHINA?.. I believe I'd check em prior to competing or coming back home. It is China, after all...
What a stupid, bad idea...

[RTFM]

What your all missing is that the U.S. Olympic organization is A PRIVATE organization.
They get to pay for their own uniforms. The get to choose their own designer of the uniform. The get to choose WHO MAKES THEM, and they have said all along that they are proud of the company they are teamed up with in chee-nah' to make them.

We have no dog in this fight - as we (The People) do not pay a penny of funding.
We may give personally but nothing more.

[Timothy]

RTFM...

I'm well aware of those facts but it still doesn't sit well with me!  I also don't care much for the big RL logo on the blazers either...YMMV.  Regardless of the funding mechanism, they're representing the United States of America!   

.02

[tombogan03884]

Gee, that's funny, when Romney the "outsourcer" ran the Olympics in Salt Lake the US uniforms were made in the US.