The Garment Worker Protection Act and What Does a “Made in USA” Label Actually Mean?

Confused about “Made in” labels when it comes to where your clothes are made? Yeah, you’re not alone. It is a convoluted schema of loopholes and corporate indulgences.

To understand where we are, we have to know where we’ve been. At the end of the 1800’s and into the 1900’s, long before western society became brand obsessed, there were tailors and tailors’ unions where labels were leveraged as an opportunity to exhibit their skill, strength and overall quality.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, factories stateside started to leverage this tactic as a branding strategy and the first branded clothing labels began showing up in the 1940’s and 1950’s. During this time, these labels were viewed as artistic elements furthering the garment’s prestige as designers, retailers and manufacturers often took great care and time creating their label design.It all begins with an idea. In the United States clothing retailers didn’t start importing clothing from overseas until the 1950’s. Along with the brand logo, clothing made stateside throughout this time period typically featured the city and state where the garment was made.

Surprising…no one really, clothing imports continued to expand. Enter the “Made in” label. In the late 1960’s and 1970’s clothing, particularly in the United States, started to come from (South) Korea sporting a “Made in Korea” label. At that same time, bulk manufacturers started to use inexpensive labels on their garments while couture houses continued to use more artistic, higher quality labels further separating the craftsmanship of the clothing they sold.

Requiring a “Made in “ label, signifying the country of origin, became a marker of class. It is common to think that the “Made in” label provides the consumer with a general idea of the working conditions, wages, safety and health standards of a certain country, brand or factory. In that same breath, some countries have become synonymous with sweatshops and abhorrent working conditions.

But really, at the heart of the matter, the significance of the “Made in” label has become overly complicated and convoluted. This is largely in part to the growth of the fashion industry through globalization. These countries that are often pegged as safe harbors for sweatshops and garment worker exploitation often have several brands and retailers working with cooperatives in those countries to produce ethically made goods that contribute to the communities they serve.

So, how do we really know when a garment is ethically made?  

For starters, we need more transparency. 

To be sure, the allure of cheap labor has led to sweatshops cropping up in more developed countries, only further complicating the “Made in” label.

Brands and fashion houses can significantly cut costs by producing high-end garments outside of the country of origin and then have them finished or packed in the country where the fashion house or brand resides.

Read the full article on Elephant Journal.