It’s quite rare to find American made products anymore, if you look inside your own closets you will find exactly how rare it is. I recently decided that I would look through my own closets to check out which countries I was supporting and what companies were produced in what countries.
Many people care about where the products are made and purchase according to the location of production. I think it’s great that there are still American made snowboard products…I do purchase American made products when I can. Despite what country is it made in, I find that I’d rather support the company and the products they make. If they make solid products in Austria, China or USA…then I’ll support them.
While I don’t agree that China is the best country for keeping a good track record of Human Rights…I believe that the snowboard companies that choose to produce in China or in any other countries still hold the responsibility of following those International Standards of Human Rights and I expect that any company that produces in other countries would enforce good working conditions and not violate International Standards. It is nice that China’s snowboarding market is expanding though, we’ll see how the snowsports grow in a country that creates many of our snowboarding products.
One of the noticeable effects that I appreciate from companies is the glimpse into overseas productions. Spacecraft, Endeavor and 686 to name a few, offer a look into their production factories overseas on their websites, blogs, and newsletters. It’s great to see that companies want you to see where products are made and the steps behind them…I wish more companies would step up to that.
Here’s my own list of what’s inside my closet and where it is produced:
L1 Jacket – China
Northface Jacket – Bangladesh
686 Pant/Belt/Jacket: China
Bonfire Jacket – Indonesia
Red Hifi Helmet – China
Dakine Gloves – Sri Lanka
Rome Gloves – China
Burton Gloves – China
Mountain Hardware Jacket – China
Spacecraft Wallets/Beanies- Indonesia
Oakley Goggles – No idea…does anyone know this?
Never Summer Snowboards – USA
Helly Hansen Jacket – China
Atomic Snowboard Boots – China
Vans Snowboard Boots – China
Coal Headwear – China
Union Bindings – China
Rome Bindings – China
Sorels (counts for snowgear) – China
Bitchboard Snowboard – Taiwan
Capita Snowboard – Austria
K2 Snowboard – China
Pow Gloves – China
Mtnops – USA
Macbook (most important thing to me) – China
The only two companies that are built in the USA that I currently own are Never Summer and Mtnops. Mtnops is still up & coming but are planning to stick with American made products as they build up their line.
While it would be great to have snowboarders producing all of our snowboard products, I find it highly unlikely that will happen. I’m content with snowboarders designing and testing our products and sticking by the quality of products whether it is overseas or in our own countries.
Go check out your own closets, your binding or boot boxes, labels, snowboards…to see where your gear comes from. Chances are…it is overseas.
Lou G.
September 18, 2008 at 2:14 pmNice,
Just the other day some kid on one of the message boards was mouthing on ‘Burton exporting manufacturing to China, so watch out…”
I asked him what made the machines in China so different from the ones in the U.S.
I agree, it’s not so much where products are made but the care, love and research that went into its design.
I didn’t know there were ‘inside the factory’ deals from a few companies… I’m off to check it out.
Shayboarder
September 18, 2008 at 2:25 pmI updated it with links to where the companies talk about their production overseas with photos or write ups. Spacecraft you have to go into the spring catalog to get the stories of some of the workers in Bali and the workmanship that goes into their products. It’s great to see a company recognize that they can help another town across the world and do it respectfully.
Burton has already been in China…nothing new there. Machines are machines. That’s why I love O-matic’s motto…handcrafted by expensive machines because it’s that way for everyone, they just don’t want to admit it.
Marc
September 18, 2008 at 8:39 pmI think in the current age of 4$ gas, we’re going to see a shift. For years, companies have reaped the benefits of outsourcing manufacturing to countries with lower labour costs (and usually more lax envionrmental policies). However, expensive gas makes it more expensive to ship manufactured goods to the places where those goods are consumed. I think we may see a phenomenon of reverse-globalisation soon where the local economy rules.
Anonymous
September 18, 2008 at 10:51 pmChina is wack.
Anonymous
September 19, 2008 at 1:56 pmhow’s that melamine milkshake taste?
China apologists are wack.
GraysOnTrays.com
September 26, 2008 at 7:32 pmAs for China, well, yes, there are some serious problems there. Consider though that more people there have left extreme poverty in a shorter amount of time than in any other era in history.
As for environmental standards, they cost money. In the early industrial history of the US, we were desperate for development (as are most Chinese today), so we put up with stuff (air pollution, for example) that we wouldn’t put up with today. So we’re willing to suffer a bit. China is already feeling the need to clean up the air.
As for human rights, we should press for China to follow agreements they have made, but also keep in mind that, say, we had child labor well into the 19th century (sort of where they are, economically). So press the point but don’t be self-righteous about it.
Resist the temptation to feel bad about buying gear that isn’t made in the USA. Money you save by buying stuff made elsewhere is money that you spend on stuff and services that employee people here in this country.
As for what’s in my gear bin, the most interesting thing I’ve found is that my board (Salomon Special) has “Made in Tunisia” imprinted on the base. China, I would expect. Tunisia, not.
John