Since it was revealed the Ralph Lauren-designed opening ceremony uniforms for the US Olympic team were made in China, a member of Congress has openly suggested burning them, a move some outraged Americans immediately endorsed — it didn't take long for a "Burn the New USA Olympic Uniforms" Facebook page to pop up, naturally.

According to one estimate, USOC's outsourcing of Team USA's apparel manufacturing to China cost the U.S. about $1 billion. While others have come to the Team USA's defense of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and Team USA, the Christian Science Monitor argued against corporate panhandling altogether. "While China is harvesting farm girls from remote provinces to be canoeists, gymnasts, and weightlifters — training them in state-owned facilities and paying top dollar to lure top coaches — the USOC is panhandling on the doorstep of corporate America." 

Ralph Lauren, which prides itself on being an All-American brand, is smarting from the outcry. Its namesake founder has vowed that the brand will produce the 2014 Winter Olympics Team USA apparel in the U.S., according to a statement released Friday that was backed up by USOC:Continue reading...

Gone are the glory days when the world's superpowers would boycott the Olympic games in their entirety to send a message to a rival. Today, friction between the world's most powerful nations is economic, not nuke-based, and the Olympics is getting an age-appropriate controversy between America and China.

“[T]hey should take all the outfits, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over.” From The Wall Street Journal, that was US Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Harry Reid's response when he learned that Team USA's Ralph Lauren-designed opening ceremony uniforms were "Made in China." Nike, Team China's uniformer, better hope the nation doesn't retaliate with some kind of good old Cold War mutually assured destruction theory.Continue reading...

On the eve of Google revealing its expanded Nexus family of devices and eagle-eyed observers spotted that its Nexus Q Android-powered Magic 8 Ball streaming media player is being made in the USA, The New York Times published a piece more or less suggesting Apple builds the cost of dead workers into its products.

Two days after the Grey Lady published "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad," — subtly implying that Apple was directly responsible for a deadly explosion in a Chengdu plant — it ran another big piece: "Google Tries Something Retro: Made in the U.S.A."

The new Cold War between America and China over manufacturing will be fought by proxy brands Google and Apple. We already know whose side the New York Times is on. In the meantime, Google may have just pulled the Made-in-America wool over everyone's eyes.Continue reading...

The Made In America Store is making the most out of a recent David Letterman complaint on his Late Show that "We can't even make our own back scratcher in America, why?" A press release announces, "In response, the Made In America Store has sent Letterman a Maple Landmark Back Scratcher, entirely made in America."

A new survey from Li-Ning, the Chinese athletic footwear and apparel company founded and named after China's most famous Olympic medal-winning gymnast, suggests that Americans might just be in the market for a Chinese-made back scratcher after all. In fact, the survey's highlight finding suggests that over 90 percent of US consumers are ready to buy a Chinese brand. Continue reading...

From lead-tainted toys and poisoned milk products to deadly dog food, the reputation of quality control standards for the "Made in China" brand has taken a severe beating.

Now, one brand is exploiting the brand's sullied image by making the panic over "China-made" into the pillar of its brand-building strategy; but is it too much?

Opurity vitamin ads are turning up on various blogs across the web. The first I saw was on a right-wing political blog. It probably would not have stood out except that the ad featuring a horrifying image of a factory spewing thick pollution into the sky with the eye-popping copy "Don't trust your health to China... Warning: Multivitamin companies entrust your health to vitamin ingredients made in China. Do you?..."Continue reading...

Following the widely reported news and subsequent recall of baby formula, pet food, and children’s toys due to contamination, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has taken proactive steps to address consumer fears about Chinese-made goods. The Ministry recently released a 30-second television commercial to air internationally as part of an effort to rebrand the “Made in China” label.

Brandchannel's Barry Silverstein wrote about the television commercial last week, and since then consumer reaction from across the globe has been, well, compelling. Consider, for example, these comments from our readers:Continue reading...

The Chinese government is finally acknowledging that the phrase "Made in China" has regained many of its one-time negative connotations. Many Chinese brands have earned their poor perception: Consumers in the US and elsewhere have heard alarming reports of Chinese-made products scandalized by poor quality and deadly oversights. These have included everyday products like pet food, toys, and milk. and the bad publicity has done nothing but damage to the country's image.

So China has launched a new television ad campaign. Seen first in Asia, the campaign is now airing in the US, and features products with the "Made in China" label -- with an international twist. Each "Made in China" example highlights Chinese manufacturers' collaboration with other countries. For example, MP3 players are shown with the phrase, "Made in China with software from Silicon Valley." Clothing carries the label "Made in China with French designers."Continue reading...