Why only 2% of clothes are made in the USA
Did you know that only 2% of the clothes we buy in the U.S are made in the U.S?
In 1960, the average American bought less than 25 pieces of clothing each year, totaling about $4,000 and 95% of those clothes were made in the United States. Today, the average American buys nearly 70 pieces of clothing a year, but spends less than $1,800 on them.
And you guessed it, only 2% of those clothes are made in the U.S.
Did you know that most brands intentionally overproduce? Yup, most brands (at least big brands you’ve heard of) knowingly and willingly make more than they need or expect to sell.
WHY? Because when you make more, you pay less. And when you pay less, you make more money.
Intentionally overproducing is supported, and infrastructure has been created to support selling all of that extra product. It's why stores like TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, Overstock & Sierra exist. Overproduction leads to overconsumption, and the false belief that goods should be available for cheap.
Because of this, small brands like Youer can’t compete with the prices of fast fashion. We are making less stuff. Period. Our factories and fabric suppliers add huge surcharges to the cost of goods when you make a volume that falls below a certain threshold, in addition to the higher costs already associated with to be manufactured in the U.S
I frequently hear “your stuff is expensive!” but what that really means is, “everything else is cheap, and I expect your products to be the same.”
Cheap clothes aren’t actually cheap at all.
‘Cheap’ means your clothes might be made by someone who doesn’t enjoy the same quality of life as you do.
‘Cheap’ means a supply chain that spans the entire globe and wastes fossil fuels
'Cheap' means an ever-increasing wealth gap
‘Cheap’ means polluted waterways from dyes and harmful chemicals
‘Cheap’ means disposable, and disposable means clogged landfills.
‘Cheap’ means ‘a future generation’s expensive problem’.
But this has become OUR problem. So let’s not settle for cheap. Let’s embrace quality clothes, quality of life, quality of the environment and all the costs that are required to keep all of these healthy. We make a whole bunch of not-cheap clothes. We make clothes from recycled materials in the USA, baby!