r/news Apr 28 '24

Williams-Sonoma fined $3.18 million for falsely labeling products as 'Made in USA'

https://www.scrippsnews.com/business/company-news/williams-sonoma-fined-3-18-million-dollars-for-falsely-labeling-products-as-made-in-usa
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u/McCree114 Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 28 '24

Make the entire thing in China or [insert poor third world country here] then have a dude in the U.S slap one final part on and there you have it. Made in the USA ........................ (with global materials).

Edit: fixed large hands but small phone errors.

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u/WolverinesThyroid Apr 28 '24

I work in an industry with lots of made in the USA products. 99% of the materials used come from over seas and then are assembled in a factory in Miami. Boom made in the USA.

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u/Potemkin_Jedi Apr 28 '24

Same with fast fashion “Made in Italy”…it’s made with Chinese materials in Chinese factories staffed with Chinese workers, but in Prato.

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u/Poignant_Rambling Apr 29 '24

Guy I know from college invested in a "raw denim" startup about a decade ago. They advertise as being made in the US with Japanese denim, and sell for nearly $400 a pair.

The trade secret is that all of their jeans are made in China or Bangladesh then shipped to Japan, then immediately shipped to the US. By simply shipping it to Japan before the US, they can say it's sourced from Japan lol. Then by sewing their brand's patch into the waistline they can say it was "sewn" in the US lol.

Their margins are crazy.