Made in Italy, by Chinese workers

[watchcollector2454]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTX16XEA#a=1

 

[lee_44106]

That would explain the quality decline in some of the "Made in Italy" products.

 

[AmericanGent]

Sadly, this has been going on for quite some time- maybe 15-20 years. I don't know for sure, but these brands were once family owned companies and they were gobbled up in the 1980s. The truth is, hand labor is crushingly expensive- which we understand and willingly pay for. And it's not just Italian brands like Prada, Gucci etc., but also LV and Hermes...and down the list. These brands play up the image of an artisan lovingly making your shoes by hand, but sadly it is no longer the case. You are paying for a dream.

Also of concern is the fact that goods are made in China, then finished in Italy in order to legally have the "Made in Italy" tag.



This is why I am for the most part in a "post brand name" stage of buying. I'll spend too much money on local Neapolitan brands (while I am still living here) but never again will I spend money on Louis Vuitton, Burberry or any of those other mega-brands. I do not desire low production cost, high-profit items wrapped in logos that have been made by people in near slavery conditions. I'd rather have leather goods made by a small company - I will list some below. These things are much finer to my eye than a luxury label. I never get complements on my LV wallet or Burberry accessories, but my Saddleback stuff gets tons of questions.

http://www.hardgraft.com/

http://www.kentonsorenson.com/collections/store

http://www.tannergoods.com/ - (heard that customer service has been suffering lately- maybe got too big to quick?)

http://www.saddlebackleather.com/ - (made in Mexico by skilled leather workers who are paid and treated well.)

EDIT: spelling

 

[AmericanGent]

In the interest of full disclosure- I just bought my wife some shoes from Christian Louboutin. Oops....

But it's what she wanted so...Merry Christmas hunny.

 

[MikeDT]

Whether stuff is made in Guangzhou or Prato, doesn't make much difference really?

 

[papa kot]

I am glad I never caught the "mass produced luxury bug." Supporting small, local businesses without big marketing departments is the way to go.

 

[Naive Jr.]



Whether stuff is made in Guangzhou or Prato, doesn't make much difference really?

Dear MikeDT,

I don't understand your question in this context.
Your question concerns the difference between two places on Earth as place of manufacture.

The topic here is more complex. If you inspect the photos made by the Italian journalist, you see the workers work and live under certain conditions. Do you work under similar conditions where you are?

If I purchase trousers made in Italy sold by New & Lingwood, or pochettes made in Italy offered for sale by duchamp, how can I know or ascertain under what conditions these articles have been made?

 

[mr monty]

Made in America by Mexican workers

 

[Naive Jr.]



Made in America by Mexican workers

Dear Mr Monty,

Your formulation is insufficient. I bought a Filson rucksack made in Seattle and Bill's Driving Twill trousers of imported cloth - Bill said German, but refused to say who in Germany - made in Pennsylvania, but under what for work condition I don't know. I suppose there must be NGO organizations that know this?

 

[MikeDT]



Dear MikeDT,

I don't understand your question in this context.
Your question concerns the difference between two places on Earth as place of manufacture.

The topic here is more complex. If you inspect the photos made by the Italian journalist, you see the workers work and live under certain conditions. Do you work under similar conditions where you are?

You mean the parts about working 14 hours a day, sleeping in the factory, squalid conditions, improper or no documentation, evading taxes, smuggling, criminal gangs, etc. Yeh that sounds very much the same as where I am. Myself, I don't work under those conditions, but many do.

I just don't buy stuff from big name designer brands, period.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

Anyone read "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost it's Luster"? Good stuff..,

 

[zippyh]

Speaking of Filson workers...

 

[Naive Jr.]



Speaking of Filson workers...

Dear Zippyh,

I didn't speak of Filson workers, I said I have not investigated the working conditions of those persons who made my Filson rucksack. So your theme is your own, not mine, and your photograph collection of Asian women at work on or displaying various Filson articles shows no relevance for my theme, unless you explain that these persons work in Seattle. Filson states that their rucksacks are made in Seattle, just as Filson declares many articles imported. I read that Washington legalized cannabis, and I have heard Paracelsus said the question is quantity of dosage. Cannabis in over dosage is not recommended for persons who must think, for example, calculate their income tax.

 

[zippyh]

Dear Naïve, Jr,

I have no idea wtf you are babbling about whenever you post. I assume that English is not your first language however I doubt that is the primary cause of your babbling.

Filson employs many Asian people in their Seattle factory.
The pictures are from an article in the Seattle Times several years ago.

 

[Naive Jr.]



You mean the parts about working 14 hours a day, sleeping in the factory, squalid conditions, improper or no documentation, evading taxes, smuggling, criminal gangs, etc. Yeh that sounds very much the same as where I am. Myself, I don't work under those conditions, but many do. I just don't buy stuff from big name designer brands, period.

Yes, I mean what the thread initiator posted, and it was not correctly represented by your reduction. Now you have decided to show you get the point by including the decisive content. But if you feel I misrepresent the intention of the thread initiator, you can ask him if I'm just interpreting too much into his problem. The Italian journalist took the trouble to have the social circumstances of these Chinese photographed. From what you write about your own situation, you sound quite privileged. You don't have to work under the conditions in which you assert to know many others do. They most likely don't have enough money to buy stuff from the big name brands. Language when written in indicative mood includes punctuation , but some sentences are in imperative or even in interrogative mood, requiring other signs of punctuation. For example: What is just?