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The Claim Of Made In USA

Title

Made In USA Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does.

According to FTC guidelines, for a product to carry an unqualified "Made in USA" claim, it must meet the "all or virtually all" standard. This means that all significant parts and processing must be of U.S. origin, and the final assembly or substantial transformation must take place in the United States. Any foreign content must be negligible and must not affect the overall perception of the product being American-made.

Qualified VS Unqualified Claim

"Qualified" Made in USA means a product is mostly made in the U.S. but may include some foreign parts. For example, a shirt sewn in the U.S. but with fabric sourced from overseas. You typically see "Made in USA with Global Materials"

"Unqualified" Made in USA means the product is entirely or almost entirely made in the U.S. with minimal foreign content. You typically see this as "Made in USA", "Proudly Made In USA", even "100% Made In USA".

T-Shirt Example of a Unqualified Claim "100% Made In USA"

According to the FTC, for an unqualified Made in USA shirt, there could be a few minor foreign components that wouldn't significantly affect the product's eligibility for the "unqualified" label. These might include:

Thread: The stitching thread could be sourced from overseas, as long as it's a minimal portion of the overall materials.
Buttons: Buttons could be made in another country but still be a small part of the overall shirt.
Zippers or labels: The brand's label or zippers might come from abroad but wouldn't change the overall "Made in USA" qualification if the shirt is primarily made in the U.S.

As long as these foreign components are minimal and don’t significantly impact the overall product, the shirt could still be labeled 100% Made in USA if the shirt is predominantly produced and assembled in the U.S.

Why 100% Cotton Matters

100% cotton is the most reliable way to ensure a 100% Made in USA product because it’s widely grown in the U.S. and processed domestically, supporting American agriculture and manufacturing. Unlike synthetic materials like polyester or spandex, which are often sourced overseas.

When you see a 90/10 or 50/50 blend shirt, there is a high likelihood that the blended material is sourced overseas. This isn't a manufacturer's fault, it's just that these materials are incredibly difficult and costly to source at scale in the USA.

This is why finding a mesh back hat or any stretchy textile product truly 100% made in USA is so incredibly difficult.

Our Version Of Made In USA

It seems every brand has a different approach to what Made In The USA means, and I think it is important we make our stance clear to our customers. There is nothing worse than a vague claim with smoke and mirrors.

Made in USA means all assembly processes take place in USA and all available materials are made in USA.

To qualify for an exemption under the "available" section the material must fall under these standards.

Not available at scale or reliably for manufacturing needs (hopefully one day with your support we can bring some of these items back to USA)
Not financially practical to the customer EX: make a product 100x the cost (our cut off is loosely around 5x cost)
Not a substantial part of the the product (like the polyester in the thread in a shirt)
A good faith effort was made to obtain the material in the USA, but failed.

Working with suppliers and manufactures we have to ask tough questions to insure we meet these standards. As a small business, with limited resources, we have to put our faith into these responses from suppliers. That is one of the primary reasons we set these standards the way they are. It gives wiggle room in the event we are mislead by a vendor.

If we can't make a product meet these standards, we simply don't make it.