Interesting Article in NY Post

[Rick Shellhouse]

Interesting Article about China and manufacturing...


Spent a lot? Lux to be you

THINK selling your firstborn and shelling out $2,000 for a swank designer bag guarantees it will last you a lifetime? Don't be a sucker.

Before you buy, browse through "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster," a soon-to-be-released exposé on the luxury fashion and accessories industry. In the book, veteran culture and fashion writer Dana Thomas (she's written for Newsweek, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The New Yorker) blows the lid off how high-end fashion firms cut costs to deliver jacked-up hype and compromised quality to unsuspecting consumers.

Especially shocking? While many $1,000-plus designer bags are manufactured in China, few bear the "Made in China" label. "If they do, it is well hidden," Thomas writes. "The majority, however, carry a 'Made in Italy,' 'Made in France,' or 'Made in the U.K.' label. The brands have little tricks to get around the China label. One brand's 'Made in China' label is actually a sticker affixed to the outer package, which is ripped off later. Another has the entire bag made in China except for the handle. The bag is shipped to Italy, where the Italian-made handle is attached."

To gain access to the factories, Thomas had to sign nondisclosure agreements. Still, she says she witnessed firsthand production of items later stamped "Made in Italy." She also interviewed top designers, corporate officers as well as design-team underlings. "The only luxury designer I heard openly embrace manufacturing clothing in China was Giorgio Armani," she writes.

"Burberry's chief financial officer, Stacey Cartwright, told me at a luxury conference in Hong Kong in December 2004 that the company produced 'a small bit of luggage in China.' A day later, a source who worked with Burberry at the time told me, 'Burberry's production in China is more than experimental. It is big quantities.'


Makes ya think doesnt it...


Rick Shellhouse

[Neinteen]

GO COMRADES! FOR MOTHER CHINA!

[noodle]

"duh"

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Nobody buys brand name stuff for the "quality".

Its all about the feeling and prestige of owning something from a high-fly brand.

[Army Fencer]

Nobody buys brand name stuff for the "quality".

Its all about the feeling and prestige of owning something from a high-fly brand.

Is that why you buy Uhlmann?

[leftyboy]

Is that why you buy Uhlmann?

ZiNG!

adidas is an applicable answer here, too.

[the maple epee]

Oh god! Does this mean my Leon Paul stuff was actually made in China???

[Neinteen]

Oh god! Does this mean my Leon Paul stuff was actually made in China???

GO China! I Support china by buying all their stuff

[lindajdunn]

Nobody buys brand name stuff for the "quality".

Its all about the feeling and prestige of owning something from a high-fly brand.

Nonsense. I buy brand name items partially because I spent about a decade working as a seamstress in a clothing factory. Yes, the shirts came off the same line with different labels in them. However, the few times we had BRAND clothing, the material was different and the quality control tighter.

Brand names don't guarantee quality. Brand names and reputation and history, however, give a pretty good indication that it's a low risk bet.

There's also a matter of "fit". Women's clothing is inconsistent and once you find a brand where size X fits, it's much more convenient to continue to buy that brand.

[Neinteen]

Nonsense. I buy brand name items partially because I spent about a decade working as a seamstress in a clothing factory. Yes, the shirts came off the same line with different labels in them. However, the few times we had BRAND clothing, the material was different and the quality control tighter.

Blah, I've got sources from shoprite and stopandshop telling me that shoprite brand food items come from the same factory as the other stuff. or at elast chef boyardee

[lindajdunn]

Blah, I've got sources from shoprite and stopandshop telling me that shoprite brand food items come from the same factory as the other stuff. or at elast chef boyardee

Coming from the same factory does not equal being from the same batch.

There have been times I've bought cheaper foods and the taste wasn't that bad and times I've bought store brands, etc. only to find the food quality low and the taste poor. YMMV.