RLBL-made in China?

For the standard cashmere sweaters, it's usually purple label made in Italy and blue label made in china.

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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Where did you see Purple label sweaters made in China?
Polo Ralph Lauren B&M stores that sell Purple Label sweaters.

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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I only see 5 on the website,and they're all made in Italy.
The machine made sweaters are finished in Italy so they are marked "Made in Italy".
All the work on RLPL hand knitted sweaters is done in China so they are marked made in China.

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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My guess would be:cashmere sourced from Mongolia,yarn made in Italy,sweater knit(not woven)in Italy.As far as made in China products overall,I never know who actually made it.Can you list some names of top tier Chinese clothing manufacturers?Generally speaking,if a label says Barbera,Belvest,or St. Andrews I can be reasonably assured of at least a certain level of quality and know that they've been around for a long time with the quality being consistent.Even if I knew the name of a very good Chinese company,which I don't,I would still have no idea of how long they've been making something and at what consistency.Add to this the fact that if you go into J.Crew or Banana Republic literally everything is made In China,and it's all crap with the actual maker never listed.In my mind it just all gets lumped together and filed under "generic Chinese crap".If TJ Maxx/Marshalls can sell Chinese shirts for $10 and make a profit then what does that tell you about the quality of the fabric?Most decent mills,regardless of country of origin,don't even sell their cheapest fabric for that little.Maybe if some decent Chinese companies did some advertising and shipped a good product to establish some brand recognition then consumers would have more faith in purchasing their products.
Do you support racial profiling, too? More than a few undertones of xenophobia in your post. May be you should change your screen name to MacKKK? As others have pointed out, the bottom line is how well a company implements their quality control. Provided they have stringent QC it shouldn't matter where a product is made. It's also worth bearing in mind that most of the Made in Italy garments have the majority of their construction conducted elsewhere (e.g. China), with Italian (or perhaps more likely migrant Chinese workers in Italian factories) doing some of the finishing or simply sewing on the Made in Italy labels...

Originally Posted by matt22616

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The value of their labor is rising. I know this is distressing to many of the Caucasian Persuasion, but it's the truth. I don't like it any more than the next red-blooded, cashmere sweater-wearing, white American male, but them's the numbers kiddos.

Maybe if hippies and liberals didn't run the country we might have a chance to put them in their place, before they steal our jobs. At least they're not capable of ****** our women.


The sooner Hu Jintao calls in the marker on your bankrupt nation, the better. Your asses belong to the Saudi's and the Chinese now. Deal with it.

Your response doesn't make sense. Why would a brand disclose who their manufacturers are? And when has any garment brand openly disclosed who the manufacturer is? Those are trade secrets and almost all companies work though agents anyway.

for those who don't like made in china, fyi a lot of production is already shifting away from China to Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc b/c of the rising labor costs

It's amazing how difficult it is to read something with no spaces after any of the punctuation.

Anyway ..

Originally Posted by academe

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As others have pointed out, the bottom line is how well a company implements their quality control. Provided they have stringent QC it shouldn't matter where a product is made.

That's fair enough, but there are plenty of recent instances of companies moving production to China but neglecting QC (and maintaining prices). So "made in china" becomes a surrogate marker for lower quality in the minds of consumers, perhaps unfairly in some instances.

I can also think of a couple of other reasons why an individual might not wish to buy MIC items:

1. If production of an item in their home country has been offshored to China, they may resent the loss of jobs and/or feel that the traditional way of making that item can't be maintained.

2. Labour laws in China are perceived to allow for exploitation of the workers - not to say that workers in the first world don't get exploited, but at least the laws are there to prevent that.

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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Maybe if some decent Chinese companies did some advertising and shipped a good product to establish some brand recognition then consumers would have more faith in purchasing their products.

But you're not buying the Chinese company's product - you're buying an RLBL product. And that's the point of the brand name - regardless of wherever the product is made, it should have a certain level of quality that's synonymous with Ralph Lauren.

Do you really think the average consumer knows that Caruso makes their suits, etc?

Originally Posted by deveandepot1

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Polo Ralph Lauren B&M stores that sell Purple Label sweaters.


The machine made sweaters are finished in Italy so they are marked "Made in Italy".
All the work on RLPL hand knitted sweaters is done in China so they are marked made in China.
Which B&M stores?I've been in several lately and have not seen this.I was just in the Nantucket store and all of the PRL was made in India,Bangladesh,Hong Kong,and China save for a few suits made by Corneliani.All the PL and BL that I saw were made in UK and Italy.

Originally Posted by academe

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Do you support racial profiling, too? More than a few undertones of xenophobia in your post. May be you should change your screen name to MacKKK?

As others have pointed out, the bottom line is how well a company implements their quality control. Provided they have stringent QC it shouldn't matter where a product is made.

It's also worth bearing in mind that most of the Made in Italy garments have the majority of their construction conducted elsewhere (e.g. China), with Italian (or perhaps more likely migrant Chinese workers in Italian factories) doing some of the finishing or simply sewing on the Made in Italy labels...
Racial Profiling?Are you serious?I agree about the QC,but so far nobody has named a single reputable Chinese company,NOT ONE.Can you name one?Or for that matter,can you name a Chinese clothing maker at all,of any quality?So you're saying that Kiton,Brioni,Caruso,and most Italian brands are made in China and only have Italian tags sewn in?I call bullshit,please cite some references.I have never seen a Chinese garment with tags that list the fabric,mill,contract number,and all the other info on an Italian tag.I live in the US,and the laws regarding country of origin tags do not permit this practice,although some European ones are not so strict.Can you name any excellent Chinese fabric Mills?I can't even name one.

Originally Posted by Annadale

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The sooner Hu Jintao calls in the marker on your bankrupt nation, the better. Your asses belong to the Saudi's and the Chinese now. Deal with it.

Not only that,he was just here the other day to remind Obama who owns who.

Originally Posted by cchen

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Your response doesn't make sense. Why would a brand disclose who their manufacturers are? And when has any garment brand openly disclosed who the manufacturer is? Those are trade secrets and almost all companies work though agents anyway.

for those who don't like made in china, fyi a lot of production is already shifting away from China to Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc b/c of the rising labor costs
A good percentage of this forum is about who makes what for whom,and what's good and what should be avoided.And you still haven't answered my question asking you to list good Chinese brands,and also good fabric mills while you're at it.So far not one person has listed a single reputable company.I agree that quality is paramount,but you contradict yourself by implying that I should assume decent quality because of Chinese origin without even knowing the maker.I have noticed production moving to Bangladesh,Vietnam,Indonesia,etc as you have pointed out.

Originally Posted by TRINI

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But you're not buying the Chinese company's product - you're buying an RLBL product. And that's the point of the brand name - regardless of wherever the product is made, it should have a certain level of quality that's synonymous with Ralph Lauren.

Do you really think the average consumer knows that Caruso makes their suits, etc?
The discussion seems to have expanded to Chinese made clothing in general,so I wasn't specifically refering to RLBL in some posts.I was under the impression,apparently incorrectly,that the crossover point was at PRL,where the lower stuff could be made anywhere and the "real" PRL being made by Corneliani and not having BL or PL reversing the trend.That was what inspired my OP,I was surprised to see a $750 BL sweater MIC,and wondered if it was counterfeit.Seeming that the website just says "imported",I was looking for feedback from MC to rectify my ignorance on the subject.That was the sole basis for the OP,I never intended to offend or incite anyone and am surprised at some of the reactions.

Originally Posted by Annadale

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The sooner Hu Jintao calls in the marker on your bankrupt nation, the better. Your asses belong to the Saudi's and the Chinese now. Deal with it.

You forget what securitizes debt my friend. Assets don't mean **** when the debtor has big bombs he's not afraid to use.....(nice avatar btw)....

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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I agree about the QC,but so far nobody has named a single reputable Chinese company,NOT ONE. Can you name one?
There are definitely good manufacturers in China, even if they're not easily named. Take a look at these articles: http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...na-growth.html http://www.savilerow-style.com/issue012/style03.htm And also this thread from London Lounge: http://thelondonlounge.net/forum/vie...t=9664&start=0

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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Or for that matter,can you name a Chinese clothing maker at all,of any quality?
What about WW Chan? One of the members here was recently running some publicity for another new bespoke tailoring firm that opened up in Shanghai recently, although the name escapes me...

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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So you're saying that Kiton,Brioni,Caruso,and most Italian brands are made in China and only have Italian tags sewn in?I call bullshit,please cite some references.
I'll grant you that some houses keep their production in-house, and the Made in Italy label still retains some meaning. However, take a look at the following threads: http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...nese+immigrant http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...nese+immigrant http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...nese+immigrant I think many Italian houses have as dirty hands when it comes to labour practices as anybody else.

Originally Posted by cold war painter

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It's amazing how difficult it is to read something with no spaces after any of the punctuation.

Anyway ..



That's fair enough, but there are plenty of recent instances of companies moving production to China but neglecting QC (and maintaining prices). So "made in china" becomes a surrogate marker for lower quality in the minds of consumers, perhaps unfairly in some instances.

I can also think of a couple of other reasons why an individual might not wish to buy MIC items:

1. If production of an item in their home country has been offshored to China, they may resent the loss of jobs and/or feel that the traditional way of making that item can't be maintained.

2. Labour laws in China are perceived to allow for exploitation of the workers - not to say that workers in the first world don't get exploited, but at least the laws are there to prevent that.

The ethical dimensions to this issue are certainly worth discussing, although I do believe that the Italian textile/clothing industry probably has it's fair share of ethically dodgy practices:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST27861520080622

Originally Posted by robin

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There is some great cashmere knitwear coming out of China now, on par with many European companies.

Please own one Made in China cashmere knitwear for one year.....and own one, say Made in Italy or Made in Scotland, for one year...and then compare


The Made in China will shed on white shirts, progressively worse.....when you get warm, it will loose its shape irreversibly...

Originally Posted by indesertum

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does made in china actually mean anything in terms of quality? what does it matter where it's made as long as quality control is the same?

It matters for the following reasons:

1. Quality control is often not the same.
2. Third world factories often employ child or slave labour.
3. Environmental controls are often nonexistent.
4. There are virtually no consumer protections on content of materials or truth in labeling. Just because that shirt made in Thailand reads "100% cotton" doesn't mean it's 100% cotton.
5. Many times the purchase of products from these nations continues to empower the tyrannical governments leading to further oppression on local people and international strife.

I work for the American branch of a Spanish company that builds wind turbines. We assemble our nacelles in the US, but most of the components come from China—including German brand name components and modules.

We have seen no difference in quality from when it was made in Germany or in China as these suppliers have their name on the line and a reputation to defend. We have also moved some of our plants to China and our quality has actually improved (possibly due to newer equipment).

I know I don’t work in textiles or fashion, but I’m sure many brands (not all) understand the value of their brand image and they will do everything in their power to protect it even if it is made on Mars using Plotonians.