SOAS: Proudly Made in the U.S.A.
Probably like a lot of you, I've been glued to the TV for the last week watching the Olympics & looking forward to the Paralympics (Go Team CAF!). Our usual world of triathlon & endurance sports is so international: there is such a melting pot of athletes from around the world; our favorites are often from other countries; and our favorite races take place all over the globe. National boundaries blur almost to the point of non-existence, which is incredible.
However, with the once-every-four-years Summer Olympics, I have to admit I become unabashedly patriotic!
I was so pumped when Phelps nabbed his 17th(!!!) gold medal in the 100m butterfly last night. I cheered so loudly when Missy Franklin busted the world record in the 200m backstroke that Rocky (our geriatric & mostly unhearing dog) got up and walked. I can’t resist Gabby Douglas’ infectious smile and amazing (AMAZING!) gymnastic routines! And did anyone see the final point of the gold medal Bryant brothers doubles tennis match? INSANE!
So, in this fit of patriotism, I just wanted to take a minute to say how proud we all are at SOAS that our clothes are all...Made in the U.S.A!
Ralph Lauren, the official Team U.S.A. Olympic uniform supplier, received a lot of flack at the start of the Games for its clothes actually being made in China. In this day and age when so many clothing manufacturers are moving their construction overseas, SOAS is super excited to be able to make our clothes right here in Southern California.
Companies often site the inability to make profitable margins if they keep their manufacturing in America. Despite our being a relative newcomer to the marketplace, and that Steph and I didn’t have any experience in fashion going into SOAS, we are pretty thrilled to say that we can meet the margins necessary to keep bringing you innovative SOAS products. More importantly, it allows us to ensure SOAS garments have the highest quality. With our sewing facility being done within a short driving distance of our home base in San Diego, we can actually drive up and look in on the sewing processes and test seams, etc. While we're extremely proud to create jobs not only in the United States but also right here in California, our motivations aren't completely altruistic...it also makes good business sense: by having in-house and local production, we can keep a closer eye on quality & our short supply chain reduces our production turnaround-time.
When we started the company, we took a look at producing our garments overseas, but after a fair amount of discussion and debate, we concluded that we are going to make our clothes right here on American soil.
Don’t get me wrong, I am in heaven geeking out watching athletes from different countries around our globe giving it 110% in every event! And while I LOVE watching the world come together every four years to give us spectators and dreamers the opportunity to see the best athletic performances and shows of sportsmanship...I am firmly cheering for TEAM U.S.A.
And for TEAM MADE IN THE U.S.A.!
No comments:
Post a Comment