Ralph Lauren made in China!?

[Taken Aback]

I see that American Living (RL) is made in Hong Kong as well.

 

[Wes Bourne]

The merch described by the OP is likely Polo Ralph Lauren since the downtown The Bay's window displays are currently plastered with PRL. I believe it marks the return of the brand after a little absence.

lee_44106, your apparent self-loathing of Asians is a fail. While LK still has the monopoly on that, even his comments are becoming sort of played.

 

[Master-Classter]

Originally Posted by Frankie

Hello.

I'm from Canada, in MontrÃ

al and went browsing clothes downtown. I went to The Bay and was pleased to find out that they started selling the Ralph Lauren line again. But I noticed the "made in China" tag. I know this brand is very popular here and seems to be considered the best but how do you feel about the fact that it's made in China? I may as well shop at Old Navy...

What are you thoughts?

Thanks
François

If I'm not mistaken, the Bay carries a diffusion line of Ralph Lauren, just called "Lauren"... It's not the same as RLBL or RLPL, and yep, it's no surprise made in China. They've got some big displays up here in Toronto at the main Queen street location, stuff looks nice and I'm tempted to check it out, even if it is made in China.

 

[[savage]]

Does anyone know of any product that is designed, engineered, and produced by the Chinese that goes above and beyond those products that are designed/engineered by firms in the EU or North America ? Generally speaking, it seems that China is only good at either copying the designs of successful firms or simply for production cost reduction due to cheap labor and creative regulatory policy and control.

 

[furo]

I haven't come across any Purple Label or Black Label men's items (particularly shirts) made in China

All say made in Italy

But I did buy two Black Label cashmere sweaters for my wife that say Made in China

Does anyone have a definitive answer on the quality of the women's RLBL from China?

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by fuji

Haven't they always made the polos, most trousers, shirts and belts in china. Its far from the best.

Made in China is a cost issue. Most companies prefer it because of the cheap labor. However, if a company is willing to pay, the Chinese workforce can produce high end merchandise that is capable of rivaling goods out of Europe.

Oh, and ppl--don't be fooled. You are a bit naive if you don't think RLPL has merchandise made in China then sent to whichever country to be "finished" and then marked as Made in Italy... or whatever relative country.

 

[instep]

Originally Posted by Xiaogou

Made in China is a cost issue. Most companies prefer it because of the cheap labor. However, if a company is willing to pay, the Chinese wordforce can produce high end merchandise that is capable of rivaling goods out of Europe.
That is of course, if:

- the complete lack of ethics in business dealings, coupled with
- a nearly universal cultural propensity to get-rich-quick schemes, and finally topped off with
- shonky (at best) enforcement of commercial law

...doesn't catch up first.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by instep

That is of course, if:

- the complete lack of ethics in business dealings, coupled with
- a nearly universal cultural propensity to get-rich-quick schemes, and finally topped off with
- shonky (at best) enforcement of commercial law

...doesn't catch up first.

Having something made in China then shipping it to Italy to be finished and then placing a made in Italy tag on it is not illegal. There is no violation of commercial law.

 

[Nicola]

If you outsource any product it's up to you to make sure it's up to your standards. Doesn't matter the location of the factory. Anybody that doesn't do this is gambling with thier own reputation.

It's nice to blame China but most of the real crap is being made at the request of western companies. They are asking for goods to hit a price point. Not caring how the price point is hit.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by Nicola

If you outsource any product it's up to you to make sure it's up to your standards. Doesn't matter the location of the factory. Anybody that doesn't do this is gambling with thier own reputation.

It's nice to blame China but most of the real crap is being made at the request of western companies. They are asking for goods to hit a price point. Not caring how the price point is hit.

QFT.

In addition, this does not imply that every RL piece is made in China.

 

[instep]

Originally Posted by Xiaogou

Having something made in China then shipping it to Italy to be finished and then placing a made in Italy tag on it is not illegal. There is no violation of commercial law.
I'll give you that one, but one down, two to go. And even then that should damned well be illegal. Say what you want, but it's hard for anyone who has had prolonged contact with the Mainland Chinese to not arrive at the conclusion that more often than not they would sell their friends out for a quick buck. Or less.

 

[jhcam8]

Lots of RL made in China and has been for a long time.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by instep

I'll give you that one, but one down, two to go. And even then that should damned well be illegal.

Say what you want, but it's hard for anyone who has had prolonged contact with the Mainland Chinese to not arrive at the conclusion that more often than not they would sell their friends out for a quick buck. Or less.

I lived there for 2 years during undergrad (Flagship program). Then I worked for Crown Sun Investments for 5 years (Beijing and Hong Kong). IMO, your first two points are irrelevant. Ethics play no part in these types of decisions by businesses.

I agree with you that it is shady but the fact is that it still happens. I'll give you one example that I have seen with my own eyes. Ever hear of the Japanese tuning company called Mugen? All of their exhaust kits are made at a company in China. They are then shipped to Japan where they are "finished" then stamped: Made in Japan.

An example closer to home: I cannot remember if it is Loakes or Trickers... one of them has several components of the shoe made in India then it is shipped to the factory in the UK where it is finished then stamped: Made in England.


Off the subject but here is a link about Made in America: http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=124

http://www.catwinternational.org/factbook/Marianas.php

 

[modern_leifeng]

Originally Posted by instep

I'll give you that one, but one down, two to go. And even then that should damned well be illegal.

Well, maybe it should be illegal, but right now, its far from it. Though I may be accused of "regurgitating" what was said elsewhere in this post (this time by myself), its an incredibly common practice. I believe the EU laws are fairly high, something like 30% of the product must be made in, say, Italy, for it to have a "made in Italy" tag, but even in that case, 70% of the construction was done in China. As far as I know, HK doesn't have that high a standard, so many products that are "made in HK" are actually just made in China then spend a week or so in HK during which they get that tag.

Strange how when people think of HK, they think of high quality, classic tailoring and when people think of China, they think of crap...

 

[HomerJ]

Originally Posted by Xiaogou

Having something made in China then shipping it to Italy to be finished and then placing a made in Italy tag on it is not illegal. There is no violation of commercial law.
No, that IS illegal unless a substantial transformation occured in Italy. Really beating a dead horse here in this thread.