WARNING: This is NOT a thread to discuss child labor or human trafficking. Please keep the thread to the topic on where your clothes are made.

I was wondering, have you ever paid attention to which countries your clothes are made in? For some I have.

For my T-shirts, my sleep T-shirts seem to be mostly made in Latin American countries, while my go-out T-shirts seem to be mostly made in Pakistan, Indonesia, or India.

For my polo shirts, most of mine are made in India, with some made in Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, and Bangladesh, and a small number made in Cambodia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Peru.

For my button-down shirts, they seem to be predominantly made in Bangladesh, but I remember one made in China and one made in Mauritius.

For my fleeces, my pink hoodie is made in Honduras, while my sport fleeces are made in Cambodia, Vietnam, Lesotho, and Kenya.

I haven't paid much attention to my pants or jeans.

Interesting how few of my clothes are actually made in China.

Turkey, Germany, Peru by quick glance.

1337Delta764 wrote:

Interesting how few of my clothes are actually made in China.

None of mine are. China exports some 40 billion worth of clothing and textiles to the US. How large is the total market?

Best regards
Thomas

1337Delta764 wrote:

Interesting how few of my clothes are actually made in China.

I have been buying custom made shirts and suits that are manufactured in China. I have been quite pleased with them.

South east asia (and other emerging markets) is (are) making it harder for China to cheaply export clothes these days. The irony does not escape me here.

I have a leather coat made in pakistan. The quality is great and has served me well the last 12 or so years. Only mishaps are a couple big buttons that fell off somewhere in my journeys.

The shoes I'm currently wearing were made in Cambodia.

I don't dare take anything else off at this moment lest my co-workers be forced to write a report.

Most are from Italy, others Portugal and England.

CitizenJustin wrote:

Most are from Italy, others Portugal and England.

Wow, you must have a whole lot of money! I can never afford that.

1337Delta764 wrote:

CitizenJustin wrote:

Most are from Italy, others Portugal and England.

Wow, you must have a whole lot of money! I can never afford that.

I am not sure about England, but from Italy and Portugal you can get plenty of cheap or mid-price range clothing too.

best regards
Thomas

1337Delta764 wrote:

CitizenJustin wrote:

Most are from Italy, others Portugal and England.

Wow, you must have a whole lot of money! I can never afford that.

When I was in "chinese stores" in Portugal I was seeing cheap clothing with chinese brand names made in Italy.

In Taiwan cheap clothes came from African countries.

Here? Grabbing a couple of plain t shirts I have Peru and Cambodia.

Jouhou wrote:

1337Delta764 wrote:

CitizenJustin wrote:

Most are from Italy, others Portugal and England.

Wow, you must have a whole lot of money! I can never afford that.

When I was in "chinese stores" in Portugal I was seeing cheap clothing with chinese brand names made in Italy.

Is it possible that the labels were fake?

VTKillarney wrote:

Jouhou wrote:

1337Delta764 wrote:

Wow, you must have a whole lot of money! I can never afford that.

When I was in "chinese stores" in Portugal I was seeing cheap clothing with chinese brand names made in Italy.

Is it possible that the labels were fake?

Not necessarily. Prato near Florence is a hub for Chinese workers in Italy. So Gucci or Prada can still put their "made in Italy" label... even if made by Chinese workers.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018 ... in-tuscany

As for Portugal, people underestimate how poor rural Portugal is, even compared to Spain, Italy or Greece. A few years ago factories in Portugal used child labour:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/zara ... b08lb388r5

Increasingly in Europe, you will see Made in Bulgaria, Made in Romania or similar places in many brands (even affordable luxury brands)... no need to ship that stuff from Cambodia when you can do it inside the EU!.

SCQ83 wrote:

Increasingly in Europe, you will see Made in Bulgaria, Made in Romania or similar places in many brands (even affordable luxury brands)... no need to ship that stuff from Cambodia when you can do it inside the EU!.

many clothing items also don´t have that much labor in them, and the "made in whatever EU" country label, is worth much more than the additional pay for the work.

best regards
Thomas

SCQ83 wrote:

VTKillarney wrote:

Jouhou wrote:

When I was in "chinese stores" in Portugal I was seeing cheap clothing with chinese brand names made in Italy.

Is it possible that the labels were fake?

Not necessarily. Prato near Florence is a hub for Chinese workers in Italy. So Gucci or Prada can still put their "made in Italy" label... even if made by Chinese workers.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018 ... in-tuscany

As for Portugal, people underestimate how poor rural Portugal is, even compared to Spain, Italy or Greece. A few years ago factories in Portugal used child labour:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/zara ... b08lb388r5

Increasingly in Europe, you will see Made in Bulgaria, Made in Romania or similar places in many brands (even affordable luxury brands)... no need to ship that stuff from Cambodia when you can do it inside the EU!.

Fascinating reading. Thanks for sharing.

VTKillarney wrote:

1337Delta764 wrote:

Interesting how few of my clothes are actually made in China.

I have been buying custom made shirts and suits that are manufactured in China. I have been quite pleased with them.

What a good American patriot you are!

America first, right?

bgm wrote:

VTKillarney wrote:

1337Delta764 wrote:

Interesting how few of my clothes are actually made in China.

I have been buying custom made shirts and suits that are manufactured in China. I have been quite pleased with them.

What a good American patriot you are!

America first, right?

I'm a supporter of free markets and have been critical of tariffs.

Bangladesh.

I'm on the large side and of late there are a lot of well-made clothes coming out of Bangladesh that fit me well. Pakistan, India and Bangladesh seem to produce for the volume markets. I've got my share of locally produced stuff as well but the basics and private label clothes are Bangladesh made.

Clothes made in Kenya? I don't look at tags much anymore. I have noticed some of my clothes are made in Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. I think I saw Bangladesh at some point. I wonder where bamboo and hemp clothing are made?

seb146 wrote:

Clothes made in Kenya? I don't look at tags much anymore. I have noticed some of my clothes are made in Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. I think I saw Bangladesh at some point. I wonder where bamboo and hemp clothing are made?

Africa is largely a newcomer to the garment industry; I have some striped polos and golf shirts that were made there, as well as one fleece. I have two fleeces made in Lesotho as well.

Many of the makes such as Jennyfer, Celio, Reebok, Mango and Puma are manufactured in Bangladesh and India by Mauritian firms, while only very little is still produced in the island itself. Those firms were created in the 70s in Mauritius but as cost of labour rose too much in Mauritius, they delocalised their operations to those low-cost labour countries(Madagascar inclusive). At a certain period of time, even Adidas had its clothing made in Mauritius, but it's now a little bit more expensive. Bangladeshi and Indian workers are among the only ones willing to work in the Mauritian textile industry.
Made in Mauritius clothes however remain still greatly preferred by Mauritians due to their quality and VFM, compared to Chinese clothes. Summer brands like Quiksilver, Island Haze ane Body and Soul(Australians and US people may know about them, although their products are locally made) while Jennyfer and Celio are slowly taking a great share of the market.

Interestingly this morning I took a look at the jeans I was to wear (Wrangler) and they are "Made in the United Arab Emirates" (!). First time ever I see a piece of clothing made in that country. Who said the UAE is only about Emirates and Etihad?

I love to binge-shop at H&M and Zara, so most of my clothes are made in Bulgaria, Portugal and Bangladesh. I don't like to buy clothes made in Bangladesh for obvious reasons, but H&M has those Bangladesh made T-Shirts that are so nice and snug they fit like a second skin on my torso. So I buy those but nothing else.
My suits and dress shirts are usually from Bulgaria or Romania.

UK, Australia (Melbourne) and Italy.

Most of my clothes are Bangladesh, China, Myanmar & Turkey. Shoes are Portuguese.

One thing is surprising is very little clothes in the UK are Latin American despite being huge in the States

smallvoyageur wrote:

Most of my clothes are Bangladesh, China, Myanmar & Turkey. Shoes are Portuguese.

One thing is surprising is very little clothes in the UK are Latin American despite being huge in the States

Latin America is where most of my cheap sleepwear is made, although I do have a Nautica polo that is made in Peru.

1337Delta764 wrote:

CitizenJustin wrote:

Most are from Italy, others Portugal and England.

Wow, you must have a whole lot of money! I can never afford that.

Nah, I’m just an average guy, but I like investing in quality. Instead of buying 5 cheap shirts, I’ll buy 1 quality shirt. Also, when designer clothing goes on sale you can get stuff for 75-90% off sometimes. I’ve purchased Dolce and Gabbana, Prada clothing etc. for $20 at Saks.

SCQ83 wrote:

VTKillarney wrote:

Jouhou wrote:

When I was in "chinese stores" in Portugal I was seeing cheap clothing with chinese brand names made in Italy.

Is it possible that the labels were fake?

Not necessarily. Prato near Florence is a hub for Chinese workers in Italy. So Gucci or Prada can still put their "made in Italy" label... even if made by Chinese workers.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018 ... in-tuscany

As for Portugal, people underestimate how poor rural Portugal is, even compared to Spain, Italy or Greece. A few years ago factories in Portugal used child labour:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/zara ... b08lb388r5

Increasingly in Europe, you will see Made in Bulgaria, Made in Romania or similar places in many brands (even affordable luxury brands)... no need to ship that stuff from Cambodia when you can do it inside the EU!.

True, but I’ve worked for Gucci and there’s still quite a lot of things made by actual artisans who’ve learned the craft from generations past.

SCQ83 wrote:

Interestingly this morning I took a look at the jeans I was to wear (Wrangler) and they are "Made in the United Arab Emirates" (!). First time ever I see a piece of clothing made in that country. Who said the UAE is only about Emirates and Etihad?

My favorite is when a tag says “made in China of Italian fabric” but the designer still wants $500 lol.

1337Delta764 wrote:

smallvoyageur wrote:

Most of my clothes are Bangladesh, China, Myanmar & Turkey. Shoes are Portuguese.

One thing is surprising is very little clothes in the UK are Latin American despite being huge in the States

Latin America is where most of my cheap sleepwear is made, although I do have a Nautica polo that is made in Peru.

Most sleepwear in the UK made in the Indian subcontinent; India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. I think most of it is simply most of the suppliers have good links to the garment factories there put import duties from those countries are low or non-existent.

For a little irony the famous Gareth Southgate waistcoat that M&S that they were promoting over the World Cup in Russia is made from British woollen fabric, but it is made in Cambodia!

smallvoyageur wrote:

1337Delta764 wrote:

smallvoyageur wrote:

Most of my clothes are Bangladesh, China, Myanmar & Turkey. Shoes are Portuguese.

One thing is surprising is very little clothes in the UK are Latin American despite being huge in the States

Latin America is where most of my cheap sleepwear is made, although I do have a Nautica polo that is made in Peru.

Most sleepwear in the UK made in the Indian subcontinent; India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. I think most of it is simply most of the suppliers have good links to the garment factories there put import duties from those countries are low or non-existent.

For a little irony the famous Gareth Southgate waistcoat that M&S that they were promoting over the World Cup in Russia is made from British woollen fabric, but it is made in Cambodia!

My sleep clothes are mostly Gildan T-shirts, who sources mostly from Latin America. For my IZOD shirts that I go out with, the solid Advantage Polos were produced India since it was first released in 2016, while the patterns have changed hands; last year the patterns were produced in Kenya while this year they were produced either in Vietnam or Indonesia depending on product. The IZOD Interlock polos have also changed hands, the Spring 2015 solid was produced in Egypt and the striped was produced in Vietnam, the Spring 2016 solid was produced in Indonesia, the Spring 2017 solid was produced in Vietnam, and the Spring 2018 solid was produced in India.

I honestly don't know as I hardly looked. I suppose Bangladesh, Vietnam & Indonesia.

A funny anecdote - I visited the US while my sister was pregnant and being the good brother/uncle that I am I went out and bought a few baby clothes from Carter's, a brand that's not available here in Malaysia. Only after I gave those clothes to my sister did I found out where it was made.

Right here in Malaysia...

TheFlyingDisk wrote:

I honestly don't know as I hardly looked. I suppose Bangladesh, Vietnam & Indonesia.

A funny anecdote - I visited the US while my sister was pregnant and being the good brother/uncle that I am I went out and bought a few baby clothes from Carter's, a brand that's not available here in Malaysia. Only after I gave those clothes to my sister did I found out where it was made.

Right here in Malaysia...

Interestingly IZOD seems to make their wovens in Bangladesh almost exclusively. The knits such as the polos, T-shirts, and fleeces are made mostly in other Asian or African countries, although I think I saw two of my older IZOD polos that were made in Bangladesh.

I am too enraged to discuss this travesty. Everybody gets blamed except the ones who caused this in the US and elsewhere, the Corporations, nobody else. Of course they had a bit of help from our congress. Listen and try to hear one politician blame use the term Corporations. It never passes their dirty lying lips. Any of them.

Not sure where my buck naked boxers are made, but they sure are damn comfortable. Store is just down the road a bit, so that’s nice too. I get about 90% of what I wear these days from these guys. Seriously, the shit is comfortable:

https://www.duluthtrading.com

DL717 wrote:

Not sure where my buck naked boxers are made, but they sure are damn comfortable. Store is just down the road a bit, so that’s nice too. I get about 90% of what I wear these days from these guys. Seriously, the shit is comfortable:

https://www.duluthtrading.com

Duluth makes most overseas these days, a few items made here, not many. Years ago they did have some cloths made in US. I still have some, well made, still going strong.