Made in "Italy" but actually made in China?

[lepermessiah]

I have read some articles that claim that luxury goods brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Prada etc. have their products made in China in a some what completed state then shipped to Italy, France etc. for further processing to allow them to stamp the product as made in Italy etc. Does anyone here think this is the case? Would it be plausible that the materials are made in Italy, France, USA etc. then shipped to China to be assembled? Or is this already common knowledge and I'm behind. Here's the article. I posted this in the Streetwear forum but I figured I would post it here too for more opinions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/opinion/23thomas.html?_r=0

 

[sstokol]

Considering your quoting an article from 2007, yes I would say you are behind.

 

[deveandepot1]

Common knowledge. It is done with Made in USA items too.
New Balance, Allen Edmonds,...

 

[lepermessiah]

Hmm well I always thought made in Italy meant made in Italy, I suppose I know better now.

 

[Journeyman]

Common knowledge. It is done with Made in USA items too.
New Balance, Allen Edmonds,...

Really? If so, that's disappointing to hear about NB and Allen Edmonds.

I know that NB has a few different lines but I had thought (or hoped) that their made in US and made in UK lines were actually made in those locations.

 

[deveandepot1]

Here is the thread on AE
http://www.styleforum.net/t/228354/are-all-allen-edmonds-uppers-made-in-the-dominican-republic
IIRC New Balance has similar issues. Some parts are manufactured outside the USA. They are more open about it though.

 

[sstokol]

I always laugh at the thought of the Chinese status seekers charging the Paris store for their LV bags etc which might have been made in whole or part in a factory in China!

(I have no idea what brands or products/tiers within brands might be so manufactured, but I don't doubt for a second this practice goes on especially with the "Designer" brands where they know you are paying for the label not the construction quality per se)

 

[lepermessiah]

I guess you have to look for clothing companies that are privately held like Roots who would make quality their priority rather than maximizing profits for shareholders. Makes me wonder if some of those "fakes" you see floating around on websites are actually the real deal using the same materials, just they aren't printed with the correct country of origin stamper.

 

[deveandepot1]



I always laugh at the thought of the Chinese status seekers charging the Paris store for their LV bags etc which might have been made in whole or part in a factory in China!

(I have no idea what brands or products/tiers within brands might be so manufactured, but I don't doubt for a second this practice goes on especially with the "Designer" brands where they know you are paying for the label not the construction quality per se)

I have a feeling a huge majority of items marked made in Italy, USA, UK, are made mostly in the third world. It doesn't bother me that much. I do think the quality of certain items would be better if they were entirely made in one area. I always find the AE process silly. They should just make 100% of the shoe in the DR. I am certain they would avoid some of their chronic QC issues.

 

[chogall]



I guess you have to look for clothing companies that are privately held like Roots who would make quality their priority rather than maximizing profits for shareholders. Makes me wonder if some of those "fakes" you see floating around on websites are actually the real deal using the same materials, just they aren't printed with the correct country of origin stamper.

Quality has very little to do with the place of manufacture.

 

[The Shoe Snob]



Quality has very little to do with the place of manufacture.

+1 to the above....

It is a growing trend for the majority of larger companies to outsource a good amount of the production to a country who's labor costs are a fraction of what their home country is.....

Therefore chances are that if you are buying something from a company whose output is quite small, then you can rest assured knowing that their production most likely takes place in one location, whereas companies with a massive output, are more likely than not, going to have various bits of the production being done in several locations, all to be finished in the supposed country of origin

 

[deveandepot1]



Quality has very little to do with the place of manufacture.

True.

 

[Gus]

A business owner that I know, is in the top tier tailored goods factories in China every few months. He says he sees many of the top Italian brand names in menswear being cut and sewn and the work is supervised by very talented Italian old-school tailors. They use senior production management from around the world especially the USA and Europe. It is just a matter of going where labor is affordable.

 

[archetypal_yuppie]



I guess you have to look for clothing companies that are privately held like Roots who would make quality their priority rather than maximizing profits for shareholders. Makes me wonder if some of those "fakes" you see floating around on websites are actually the real deal using the same materials, just they aren't printed with the correct country of origin stamper.

public companies have shareholders... private companies have shareholders... they all seek to maximize profits. sure, private companies may have higher risk aversions, smaller scales. but they're not making the product nice for you as a favor.

 

[papa kot]

I am not surprised. Swiss watchmaking industry has been doing it and with great success and the exports are booming.

Essentially, a country XYZ may have a law that allows a manufacture to claim "Made in XYZ" if a certain percentage of value add comes from the country. Therefore, one can bend laws around it. I am all for it--this is globalization at work and you won't be be able to stop it. As long as a company practices fair labor laws, respect environments and stands for some good cause, I'll be its customer.