My Baby is American Made

Remember, The Oak Ridge Boys song.*  Anyone? Anyone?** Ok, moving on…

Well, INTERRUPTED is my baby and she will always be American made. I didn’t know much when I started on this journey, but I did know that I wanted my apparel produced in America. I also wanted as many of the raw materials to come from the USA as possible. Why? Because I knew I wanted no part in the ‘fast-fashion’ world.

Fast fashion has become so ubiquitous that no one really stops to understand the impact it has on people and the planet. Garments made in other countries are constructed by workers making dollars a day, working in dangerous factories. Most of this low-quality product is sent to landfills, or shipped across the world just to be discarded. Earth.org reports ‘The average US consumer throws away 81.5lbs of clothes every year. In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste – equivalent to 85% of all textiles – end up in landfills on a yearly basis.’

I wanted no part of these broken aspects of the fashion industry. So, I looked to factories here in the USA. I’ve spent time talking with, visiting, and vetting companies who: pay their workers well, constantly work to improve their sustainable practices, and make garments/materials here, in America, where INTERRUPTED is based.

The price of producing in the USA is anywhere from 8-10x what it is overseas. I’ve seen the numbers; let’s talk about them for a minute…Here are rough estimates on only the cost of materials and production of a simple, basic skirt (it does not include other costs such as: staff, advertising, or new production to name a few):

Many people will look at this chart and think ‘Why is it so much more expensive to produce in the USA?’ I beg you to ask the other question: ‘WHY is it so cheap to produce overseas? How does this affect people and the planet?’

Many apparel companies are refusing to pay workers a livable wage because it will drive up the end price of a garment***. These companies believe consumers are not willing to pay more for ethical, sustainable, slow-fashion. I believe you are!

I ask you to stop and consider next time you are about to purchase ‘cheap’ fast-fashion. Decide if it matters to you that the person that made the garment was paid a livable wage. Consider investing in a piece of clothing that was made ethically, out of sustainable materials, that is high-quality, and will last a long time. Should we not demand these things from the fashion industry?  It starts with you, the consumer. Yes, money talks…make a statement with your dollar.

These beliefs are where our mission statement originated: We know you want options. We believe you care where they come from. And, I do! I truly believe there are consumers out there that want responsible, luxury apparel.

:o) MCD

* Before someone has a meltdown about objectifying lyrics, save it. I’ve heard the lyrics.  It’s also still a great fucking song to sing out loud, with the windows down, on a sunny day. Try it, you might be in a better mood.

** Yes, this is from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Gold star to everyone that got the reference!

***Some brands just price apparel high anyway, regardless of cheap, overseas production and materials. I purchased a luxury brand pair of pants last month, at $500, to see what the quality was like. It was not good; my husband said the pants looked like they came from a discount, box store.  The material was cheap, the stitching careless, and the brand tag was crooked and falling off. WTF. Yes, they were returned immediately.