4 ms·

> These days, 99% of shoes sold in the U.S. are imported, many of them from China, Vietnam and Indonesia. So you’re part of that 1%, congratulations.

Aloha 5y ago
I buy clothing and shoes mostly made for "red" america - overalls, boots, outdoor wear, everything but shirts I'm usually able to find US Made. I'm a big guy, so outside of these categories, finding stuff in "size fat" is hard. Round House overalls and jeans, Oklahoma. (Really great quality, lightweight denim, great for hot weather.) Justin/Tony Lama boots, Fort Worth and El Paso, TX. Socks from Cabellas/Bass Pro. I go out of my way to buy American, but these goods don't cost much (if any) more than normal items.
- makeitdouble 5y ago
  These are all nice and warm anecdotes, but the thrust of the article is how the vast majority of the US market shoes rely on external sources. Sure there are still people finding and loving US made shoes, there’s 1% of them according to the article, which in absolute number is a pretty big number of people (around 3 million people ?) All these 3 million people coming out of the woodwork to tell their stories feel a bit like explaining how much their town has a nice neighborhood when commenting on nationwide mass incarceration. Sure, good for them, but I’m not sure what we should take away from that.
  - Aloha 5y ago
    We don't make mass market shoes in the US anymore, they're all specialty products now. I'm trying to support US manufacturing where I can, but as far as I can tell, the choice to outsource was made to increase margins, not because of rising costs.
    - makeitdouble 5y ago
      As a mass market shoe consumer, I don't see local manufacturers competing on pure quality per se. Shoe making has already become a more technical field, and there are products that the Nikes of the world can make that local makers can't without relying on remote highly specialized factories. For instance some of Nike's flyknit series are way more comfortable, light and flexible that what local makers have to offer. It costs more churning through pairs, and going the built to order way adds to the cost, so it's not a cheap option. Margins might be huge for Nike, but I don't think they are much higher than for instance leather shoes retailed with 4 figure prices. Local makers will go for "hand crafted", "built to last" shoes, there are as you say specialty shoes, and some luxury level local brands keeping classic designs. But I don't see it as forgoing margins, and more going for niches that don't need huge R&D development for manufacturing at scale.

Aloha 5y ago

I buy clothing and shoes mostly made for "red" america - overalls, boots, outdoor wear, everything but shirts I'm usually able to find US Made. I'm a big guy, so outside of these categories, finding stuff in "size fat" is hard. Round House overalls and jeans, Oklahoma. (Really great quality, lightweight denim, great for hot weather.) Justin/Tony Lama boots, Fort Worth and El Paso, TX. Socks from Cabellas/Bass Pro. I go out of my way to buy American, but these goods don't cost much (if any) more than normal items.

makeitdouble 5y ago
These are all nice and warm anecdotes, but the thrust of the article is how the vast majority of the US market shoes rely on external sources. Sure there are still people finding and loving US made shoes, there’s 1% of them according to the article, which in absolute number is a pretty big number of people (around 3 million people ?) All these 3 million people coming out of the woodwork to tell their stories feel a bit like explaining how much their town has a nice neighborhood when commenting on nationwide mass incarceration. Sure, good for them, but I’m not sure what we should take away from that.
- Aloha 5y ago
  We don't make mass market shoes in the US anymore, they're all specialty products now. I'm trying to support US manufacturing where I can, but as far as I can tell, the choice to outsource was made to increase margins, not because of rising costs.
  - makeitdouble 5y ago
    As a mass market shoe consumer, I don't see local manufacturers competing on pure quality per se. Shoe making has already become a more technical field, and there are products that the Nikes of the world can make that local makers can't without relying on remote highly specialized factories. For instance some of Nike's flyknit series are way more comfortable, light and flexible that what local makers have to offer. It costs more churning through pairs, and going the built to order way adds to the cost, so it's not a cheap option. Margins might be huge for Nike, but I don't think they are much higher than for instance leather shoes retailed with 4 figure prices. Local makers will go for "hand crafted", "built to last" shoes, there are as you say specialty shoes, and some luxury level local brands keeping classic designs. But I don't see it as forgoing margins, and more going for niches that don't need huge R&D development for manufacturing at scale.