The vast majority of the clothes that Americans wear are made in other countries. This fact makes it much more difficult to support employers who make clothes while following ethical labor standards, such as businesses that employ sweat shop worker. However, this is not an impossible feat:
Your Clothes Might Not Be Trendy
One of the challenges of purchasing clothes made in the USA is that they often cannot be made as quickly as clothes made in other countries. For these reasons, the clothes are less likely to be trendy. Fortunately, denim tends to stay fashionable and there are many clothing companies that make denim clothes in the United States.
Some Clothes are Traceable
There are some companies that provide the ability to trace the origin. This allows for you to trace every aspect of the production of the clothes back to its source. For example, you can discover where the cotton used to make your clothes came from.
Choose "Made in the USA Certified"
When purchasing clothes, make sure that they are "Made in the USA Certified." These clothes must undergo audits to prove that they have been made in the USA. There is also a growing number of blogs that are specializing in making it easier to locate products that are only made in the USA. If the clothing is listed as being "Made in the USA," there might be some foreign ingredients that were used to make products, but the product is made in the US for the most part.
Some Clothes are Qualified and Not Fully Made in the USA
If the product is qualified, it might say something like "designed in the USA, made in Vietnam." When the label describes the product as simply being "Made in the USA," but it isn't manufactured there, this may lead to the company getting in trouble.
Secondhand Stores
If you can't find clothing that is made in the USA, the next best option is to find clothes at a secondhand store. While these clothes will not necessarily be made in the USA, you will not be supporting these types of sweat shops as much by purchasing clothes that are not new.
When you do choose clothing from the US, you are telling US companies that you would prefer local American clothing manufacturers and this will create an incentive for manufacturers to comply. Then, little by little, you can help bring jobs back to the United States.
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