U. S.Army Socks - All American or ????

[Ronald_55]

Bought some socks at an "overstock" store today. Honestly they were the cheapest ones. I just needed socks. 

Got home to look good at it. 

 

Now I don't bleed Red, White and Blue because I know the government could care less about me, but this seems weird even though  to me. 

[Garufa]

It’s not like they’re GI surplus socks or anything.  I imagine even those are probably made in a country that can actually produce inexpensive goods.

Heck, all my NRA swag is made in China.  I always found that particularly distasteful.

[Omega]

Well, it's complicated, I'm in supply (demand side), and it's near impossible to find Berry Amendment compliant clothing anymore.  So once we exhaust the search for a USA made item, we have to request a waiver to purchase ones made outside the U.S. 

[Garufa]

34 minutes ago, Omega said:

Well, it's complicated, I'm in supply (demand side), and it's near impossible to find Berry Amendment compliant clothing anymore.  So once we exhaust the search for a USA made item, we have to request a waiver to purchase ones made outside the U.S. 

It’s really a shame that American made goods are too expensive even for the government.

[Omega]

2 hours ago, Garufa said:

It’s really a shame that American made goods are too expensive even for the government.

No, if there were American made ones, we would HAVE to buy them.

[Ronald_55]

My main concern was Pakistan. Why there? I understand we make nothing except welfare dependents in the US anymore. My Dad was a plant worker in several industries until each plant was shipped abroad. 

[hipower]

44 minutes ago, Omega said:

No, if there were American made ones, we would HAVE to buy them.

Yes...that's the big problem. Not going into reasons, that can be too much to get into tonight. We, as once a manufacturing nation, are not any longer. Way too many products from outside our borders.  Too many companies and jobs lost. 

[Chucktshoes]

53 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

My main concern was Pakistan. Why there? I understand we make nothing except welfare dependents in the US anymore. My Dad was a plant worker in several industries until each plant was shipped abroad. 

Pakistan has become a textiles manufacturing powerhouse along with Vietnam. Chinese labor got too expensive to produce textile goods at a price that American consumers would pay. 

While I understand why one would experience discomfort at buying Pakistani made goods, trust me, it’s a good thing. Nothing has a moderating influence on the proliferation of extremist thought than a strong, comfortable middle class intent on maintaining their way of life. 

[btq96r]

It’s really a shame that American made goods are too expensive even for the government.

It's also a quantity thing. "Acme USA Co." may be able to make a product, but they may not be able to make it in sufficient bulk to meet a large purchasing order.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk. OhShoot very much likes to know when we're using Tapatalk.

[Ronald_55]

Just now, btq96r said:

It's also a quantity thing. "Acme USA Co." may be able to make a product, but they may not be able to make it in sufficient bulk to meet a large purchasing order.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk. OhShoot very much likes to know when we're using Tapatalk.
 

Some places don't want to go through the hassle it can be sometimes to become an authorized vendor either.

[Omega]

2 hours ago, btq96r said:

It's also a quantity thing. "Acme USA Co." may be able to make a product, but they may not be able to make it in sufficient bulk to meet a large purchasing order.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk. OhShoot very much likes to know when we're using Tapatalk.
 

We had a company accept a contract for a few thousand pairs of shorts, only to subcontract them out of the country.  Apparently, they were justified in doing so since they delivered some out of their shop.

2 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

Some places don't want to go through the hassle it can be sometimes to become an authorized vendor either.

No hassle unless you want to become a prime vendor, or get a product listed with a National Stock Number (NSN).  Most Mid, to Large vendors (and some small) are already authorized vendors through GSA Advantage which you can order small quantities through.  The problem is that the military can't sustain large orders for many textile items so they have to depend on the civilian market as well.  Take Southwest Motor Sports, they sold us flight gloves (Maxgrip) and we at first kept them in business.  But after outfitting all our crews, the orders dwindled to around 6-8 hundred pair a year.  So then they sold out to Camelbak and little by little they stopped producing the glove commercially unless a large, at least 800 pairs, order came in.  Now, since we don't need such a large quantity,  have to get a new vendor.  In comes the Berry Amendment, which bites in the butt at every turn because it sometimes doubles the price of an item or it just can't be acquired without a waiver.

[Grand Torino]

23 hours ago, Garufa said:

It’s really a shame that American made goods are too expensive even for the government.

Agreed..but it seems the problem is nothing is made here anymore except for a few specialized things. And most people could care less. And people wonder why when working service and hospitality jobs they don't make enough to spit with few exceptions. If we had a manufacturing base like we used to young people might have a job that pays enough to pay the bills...but I digress. Thanks your Congress and unions for shipping those jobs overseas at our expense .

What kind of place doesn't even make socks for their military and swag for us civilians?

[Spiffy]

On 2/11/2018 at 10:06 PM, hipower said:

Yes...that's the big problem. Not going into reasons, that can be too much to get into tonight. We, as once a manufacturing nation, are not any longer. Way too many products from outside our borders.  Too many companies and jobs lost. 

Americans make money now. We are all Wolves of Wall Street and Masters of the Universe so the rest of the world caters to our needs and desires don't you know.