2nd that comment
In a pinch, he might even be able to make some friends over the internet.
Naahh.
The Japanese just bought Asheville NC
(Ha, kidding. But you hesitated for a second, no?)
I would be willing to a wager
whatever passes for a large coffee at Starbucks -
That made in the US means loading fabric swatches from Thailand and foam cores from PRC into a big hopper and pushing the ON button for minimum wage.
I would be happy to find out I am wrong.
Kokatat
Part of Kokatat’s higher price point is their amazingly comprehensive warranty repair and replacement policy.
Per the comment above, I don’t believe you can get the product quality of Kokatat for minimum wage - there is no pfd machine with a big red button on it.
FWIW
My old (maybe 2005) Astral Tempo 300 rescue jacket is still going strong. It has large letters “MADE IN THE USA!”
If the new ones are half as good they are still a deal.
Kokatat appears to be an exception
http://blog.grassrootsoutdoors.com/vendor-partners-named-finalist-american-made-outdoor-gear-awards/
Found some other non-self published stories about the company, who stared by making sleeping bags as Blue Puma before being sued trademark infringement by Puma. Made in the USA by people sitting at sewing machines and a storyline that implies all their raw material is “regional”.
All the articles mention that they are one of the rare exceptions in the global sport gear manufacturing business
One vente with about 50 straws. Meet me in NOLA two weeks from Wednessay.
Myopic
Out of curiosity, I looked at my Astral YTV. Clearly printed inside the PFD, on the back, is the country of origin although there is no legal requirement to do so per the FTC.
This PFD is less than a year old.
Wish I could say the same for my Levi jeans. All that label tells me is to care of our planet and not wash them very much - in six different languages.
Well…
If it matters to you enough to be a dealbreaker, then I wouldn’t buy it. You can certainly find a nice Kokatat PFD. If you end up paying more to stick to your guns, who cares? Your business.
All that said, my Astral Sea Wolf is the absolute best PFD I’ve ever worn. I love it so much I’d buy it wherever it was made.
you’re in luck
I don’t drink coffee…
look in the side seams
I just bought an additional Astral PFD this summer – pulled it out and looked at the inside and the origin tag is there, a very small one sewed into the side panel seam of the left front. It says “partially assembled in China”. It makes sense for manufacturers to label this way and not on the big informational patch printed on the inside of the back, because it’s not unusual for them to use multiple assembly contractors.
They likely have the shells stitched overseas and then ship them to the USA for foam insertion and finally assembly. I recall Patagonia was doing that for a while and even ended up with a bunch of PFD shell fronts that did not meet standards – rather than scrap them they ingeniously used them in pairs to make small duffel bags.
English breakfast tea for breakfast
Mint after lunch.
But nobody wagers tea.
Only from the Textile and Wool Acts
not from the labeling requirements of the Tariff Act, which applies to virtually all imported goods.
“(a) Marking of articles
Except as hereinafter provided, every article of foreign origin (or its container, as provided in subsection (b) hereof) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulations.”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/19/1304
I thought this was pretty common knowledge. Why do you think everything at Walmart is marked “Made in China”? Certainly you didn’t think that was voluntary, did you?
The whole reason for this labeling requirement is to help purchasers make informed decisions about the products they are buying. There are very few exceptions, and certainly not one for PFDs.
Your last sentence…
strikes me as particularly ironic, and sad. That’s the worst part. If you make a quality product, there’s no reason to move your production to China. People will pay for quality, especially for a product like a PFD. I know a lot of people who routinely pay more for quality products made here, or at least elsewhere in the developed world. So do you, look around at all the US and European boatmakers and their prices.
The only reasons to move production to China involve racing to the bottom on price and quality.
I’m not saying I own nothing made in China… but I take the time to try and avoid it. I appreciate it when companies don’t try and make that as difficult as possible. YMMV.
Gee Thanks
I never thought of that.
Actually, I did research beforehand. Few, if any, companies break down exactly what models are made where… unless they are 100% from a given country. I knew that Astral’s site said they’d moved production to Asia, but it wasn’t clear how much, nor when. I also didn’t know which models would be in stock at the retailer – which turned out to be few. I thought I might find a Made in the US Astral… no way to know unless I checked.
So, to sum up, I was relying on the products to be correctly labeled, as the law in this country requires. I haven’t seen anyone come up with a good reason why Astral should be flouting that law, except I guess, because they are handsome.
Look, I get it, this is not the first time I’ve had a “Made in China” discussion on the Internet. Some people get really defensive when you suggest that maybe they shouldn’t buy Chinese products, because everything else is more expensive, and that means they can afford fewer toys. I get that. I understand it. You want what you want, so if that means some eight year old in China bathes in a river that glows in the dark from all the pollution, well, then I guess he should’ve thought of that before being born in China, right?
now, where is your kayak from
It could be China.
http://kayakdave.com/2013/02/16/kayaks-made-in-the-usa/
Kokatat
Drysuits made in U.S.A.
many of the company’s most popular pfds (MsFit Tour, Outfit Tour, Bahia, Maximus Prime etc. ) are made in China.
I really like this company. Just setting record straight.
Google ‘Kokatat pfds made in China’. See what comes up.
China
I am sick of crap from Communist china. Oppressed people whom I feel sorry for. US companies raced there to sell there products. To bad most of the time you can’t as the restrict any form of open trade. The copy and steal products and ideas, pollute the earth, and build their military which we will confront one day. I try to buy everything I can made in the USA to keep my fellow US citizens working.Trade is great but the USA is screwed by most of the world. Never ever heard a company brag about MADE in China or other third world country. I know other people have to live but we should not support or allow products that are made by people that work in horrible and sometimes deadly conditions. It could be death in a fire or death by working conditions years later. Companies like Walcrap would not agree to pay a penny towards inspectors for working conditions. They have all kinds of misleading ads like VW saying German engineering but the thing is made in Mexico, the shovel that says assembled in USA which mean a rivet in the handle. Everything should have a value % of origin. I mean these companies already have it in there books. Do I have things made in china yes but I avoid them when possible. If it is a choice between countries other than the US china is the last on the list. Reason we will confront them one day and it will be a military confrontation. Rather put my money towards payroll taxes in the USA for the defense of the USA and all the other things it goes to. I have a Solquist PDF made in Mexico after buying to Kokatats made in the USA that I was not comfortable in. Doubt we will confront Mexico any time soon. Still they need to up the game on the environment also. NAFTA was a job robbing agreement for the USA like Perot had said. To each there own but I like to hold and use products made in the USA. I have three Current Designs kayaks all made in the USA. Some of the CD yaks are made in china but they don’t tout it like there USA made boats clearly labeled on there site. Make your own choice but I would really like labeling to be better. I see clothes for sale for huge dollars like jeans. They have to sew 6 pants per hour which breaks down to 12 cents each from what I read. Now does it matter if the jeans cost say 60.00 or 60.30 cents? Companies are so damn greedy it sad. Walcrap pushes suppliers to get things made abroad for as little as one half of one percent. Wonder why we can’t get the economy going? Cheap is great till it hits your job or family. You get to a point where the cheap products hurts more than helps.
not enough consumer support
Unfortunately, the majority of the consumer population does not feel as you do so the economic reality is that few companies can survive the pressures to be price competitive while maintaining quality. Patronizing Walmart by the millions has probably done more harm to communities and the US economy than any other factor save the mortgage meltdown of 2008. We have seen the demise in recent years of several quality US made niche manufacturers in our sport, like Novorca paddles and Bughead tuiliks – just not enough people willing to pay for that kind of value. We are fortunate that companies like Kokatat and the Canadian made Feathercraft folding kayaks still manage to survive offering top of the line products and customer service, but they tread a fine line economically with increasing pressure from knock off brands produced offshore.
It is possible to find some reasonably prices non-China import kayaks. Venture kayaks (the mid-priced rotomold division of P & H) were still being made in the UK, as far as I know.
Animas
Have you seen the state of the Animas river lately?
I may have to boycott everything “Made In The USA.”.
ok bigmouth
People have told you repeatedly that
PFDs are exempt from that requirement. Someone even took the trouble to find and post a link for your lazy ass. So if you still think it’s illegal, why don’t you put on your attorney suit and file against Astral and every other manufacturer who is exempt from the requirement.
THEN you can come back and offer your prickish judgement of people trying to help you.