Random Announcements
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http://www.businessoffashion.com/2014/06/op-ed-made-usa-hype-reality.html
Interesting article although depressing. Nothing new to most here on the forum. Pretty much nailed it in one statement.
"The majority of consumers think of fast fashion, discount retailers, dollar stores and coupons when it comes to purchasing clothing. Country of origin is simply not top of mind."
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I reject the notion that its impossible for the US to do two things at once; to me its a false dichotomy to suggest that pursuing a domestic textile industry comes at the expense of bringing home other industry.
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^ Amen
Also wages don’t determine if manufacturing is domestic or not … Taxes (like VAT), tariffs, and trade policies do and can!There is nothing inherently wrong with exchanging goods with other countries. For example: If we buy from Japan we might see our money again, but let’s face it people in Bangladesh and Vietnam won’t be buying from America.
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Yeah. I'm not a huge protectionist in terms of tariffs, but I think we can have reasonably mild protectionism to help domestic industries.
I think that there is also a cultural desire to buy American that could influence things. Once upon a time, people proudly bought even cheap workwear like Pointer and Dickies from American factories, not to mention semiformalwear/haberdashery. I don't think we should assume that things won't come full circle and that people will want to buy American-made clothes, and not just within the luxury market. As the article points out, even China is losing contracts to even cheaper countries. Is this game of shifting supply chains to the lowest bidder (each shift bearing costs) sustainable, or at some point will it become more affordable to just stabilize the value chain domestically? What if, culturally, we were to move away from buying and consuming cheap things and towards thoughtful purchases of domestically made, durable, quality goods? I think it's unreasonable to write off such a future as fantasy, it could well happen, particularly if imported goods start having to defray rising fossil fuel costs.
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another quote from the article:
“Production has always migrated from one low-cost country to the next based who could offer the most competitive price.”
No, not always, this is the big lie of outsourcing and no, it doesn’t have to be this way…Here is a word they should add to there lexicon: Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states (countries) through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow (according to proponents) fair competition between imports and goods and services produced domestically.[1]
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What if, culturally, we were to move away from buying and consuming cheap things and towards thoughtful purchases of domestically made, durable, quality goods?
Ultimately this should be the goal. I don’t have a clue what the future will hold (maybe the 3D printer will be what empowers people at the local level), but something must be done to level the playing field in the meantime IMO and it’s not relying on people’s patriotism.
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I'm running a relay at the end of the month. 12 person team running from the top of Utah to Park City, nearly 200 miles. My portion is just over 22 being runner 11.
http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/wasatchback/distances
I've run it a few times, but this is a new team and we are fundraising for Huntsman Cancer Institute. All of the money goes towards this great cause. There is a link below if you want to help out. Any amount helps and if you are states side it should be tax deductible.
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great stuff summ3r. we got enough forum members here to help you reach your goal pretty quickly & it looks like a nice write-off for a great cause . . . .
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Thanks Monday! I appreciate the support.
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Sounds like a couple of Eurotrash losers are jealous of my sweet dance moves and my even sweeter moustache.
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It will be man, I quit for 3 years but have slipped recently. Currently quitting through the week and lapsing at the weekend
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Just saw my first Vibram Christy in the real world and…
And...
Well........
How to say this............
:o EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like sneakers sometimes, but not styrofoam/cardboard on my feet! (Mind officially changed)
Beginning to understand the genital amputation comment now…
(It's 70F down here today :| some winter 
)